Destiny
by ValleryRose
Summary: Set two years after G-Revolution. The Bladebreakers face the most dangerous challenge of their lives as the secrets of their past unfold. With lives at stake, this is a battle they can't afford to lose!
1. Katya

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Beyblade. Only my characters and plot.

Set two years after G-Revolution. Bladebreakers are back together again, as secrets of their past unfold. With new friends and lives at stake, the Bladebreakers face the most dangerous challenge of their lives!

[**Author's note**: I postponed the occurrence of BEGA by a year for the plot of the story. It happens a year after the championship, but not immediately. This results in the cancellation of the championship that should've been conducted that year. So, there hasn't been a championship for two years.]

This is my first shot at a fanfic or even writing something. I hope you like it!

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><p><em>Kai<em>

"You've seen her?"

"That girl? Yep…beautiful, isn't she? That's so not fair…"

"That new girl…who does she thinks she is huh?"

"Come on, you're just jealous."

"Yo…you've seen that goddess?"

"I did. I'll get her for sure…"

"Not with me around."

Just who is that 'new girl'? Not that I care. It's just another addition to the collection here. I haven't seen her yet. I'm not interested either.

"Kai! Stop," Tyson called out.

Max and Ray were with him. And the 'new girl'. I guess she's the one, because I haven't seen her around before. But, why is she with them? Isn't she a little out of place?

"This is Katya. Katya, this is Kai," Tyson said to her looking at me.

She held out her hand. My hand shook hers, involuntarily. She _is_ a goddess. What!

What am I even thinking?

"He doesn't need an introduction, does he? You're quite famous for lots of things," she was smiling at me.

I was right. She's no different from those sluts. "But I really don't care, you know. Not until you beat me in my game," she said to me.

"What?" She completely lost me at that 'my game' thing. What _kind_ of _game_ was it?

"She's a blader, Kai. And very powerful too. I've seen her stats. I challenged her, she says she only wants to fight you," Tyson clarified it for me.

"Not interested."

I simply turned and walked out of there. But then a blade stopped me. A very powerful spin, the wind around it said it all.

"You're just like people say. But, I already said I don't care. Fight me."

Interesting.

"Tonight, 9 o'clock at the bridge," I said turning towards her.

"I hope you'll turn up," she said, as her blade returned to her.

"You'll find me there."

What was that? Why did I even accept her challenge? It was tempting though. What was tempting Kai? She or her challenge? Anyway I'll find out tonight.

_Katya_

He was something…he was definitely something.

"So you up for it?" Tyson asked me. Max, Ray, Tyson, Hillary and I were sitting near the bridge where I was going to fight Kai. The stream water was cool and pleasant.

"Yup…" I said staring at the flowing water.

"That was very brave of you, you know?" Hillary said.

"Ummm…I've always wanted to fight him. When I saw the final of that championship, I mean Tyson's third consecutive win, I decided I would enter the championships and fight Kai. I know it should be Tyson, but somehow I was kind of rooting for Kai to win. I don't know if I can defeat him, but just fighting him would be great. But then…"

"What happened?" Max asked.

"BEGA happened, and we didn't have a championship after that."

"You were a BEGA member?"

"Nope…even if my life was at stake I wouldn't join something like that," I said turning towards Tyson.

"So you're a fan of Kai, huh?" Ray asked with a mischievous smile.

"Fan? What fan? I just…I like his style of blading…" I was blushing, I knew I was. I'm so stupid. They started laughing.

"Guys! Stop it. Why are you laughing? That wasn't a joke," it was so embarrassing.

"Sorry, it's the first time we've met a girl saying she likes Kai," Hillary said.

"Hey, when did I say I liked Kai? Don't say such things. It'll create misunderstandings," that's ridiculous. I _only_ like him as a blader.

"Fine, fine, you don't. Okay?" Max put an end to it.

_Kai_

She hasn't come yet. Will she even come? She looked pretty serious back then. Then why isn't she here? _You're early._ I knew the answer.I checked my watch and it was 8:45.

"You're early," her voice came from behind me. I was lying on the soft grass staring at the sky. I got up and turned around to look at her. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a pullover, track shoes. With her hands buried in her pockets she was just standing there, waiting for me to say something.

"I said I'll be there…"

"Let's start then"

"That's it? Only you?"

"Did you expect anybody else?"

"I thought Tyson and Kenny would tag along."

"Well, it's good nobody else is here. It would be humiliating when you lose in front of them."

"Oh really…then better put your blade where your mouth is…"

She clenched her fist. She was angry. I saw her blade in that hand.

"Let's do it…"

She drew out her launcher and inserted the cord. Fixed the blade to the launcher,

"3…2…1…let it rip!"

The fight started. She was powerful! Yes, her blade was power packed. Her blade created a small whirl wind like a shield to itself and came towards me head on. What a lame move! I dodged it easily, in the blink of an eye. At least I thought so. The next moment, her blade struck me with full force. She followed the path I used for dodging instead of moving in her original direction. Sharp reflexes, high speed…she's more than what she appears to be. She's no ordinary blader.

This time I attacked her. Surprisingly, she didn't dodge, faced me head on. Is she crazy?

That is when the surprise attack came.

"Zerona! Engulf him!" she made her move.

The wind rose fiercely and did what she said. It engulfed my blade. I couldn't see it; it was completely hidden by the wind.

Suddenly my blade was shot up into the sky, and her blade followed attacking my blade with quick, yet strong attacks. It was like her blade was flying.

I've had enough.

"Dranzer! Attack!"

Dranzer retaliated and started attacking. She winced. My attack was working.

"Dranzer! Finish her!"

"Not so easy Kai…Zerona! Flame Vortex!"

Flame Vortex? The bit beast came out. It was a phoenix! A phoenix? A magnificent one, golden and red…

My blade lost its hold. The vacuum of her vortex was sucking it in and scorching it.

"Dranzer…Blazing Gig!" The fiery feathers shot out and hit her blade. She increased the intensity of her attack and so did I. There was a sudden blast and both the blades shot up into the sky. They fell down together…

Her blade stopped spinning and so did mine. It was a tie.

"No way! You lost!" Tyson appeared out of nowhere, Ray and Hill were pulling him down. Kenny was there too, with his laptop.

"Where did you guys come from? You could've just accompanied me right? Why were you spying on us?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at them.

"Well…we didn't wanna disturb you," Tyson said smiling.

"Huh?" she paused for a moment, "you wanna die Tyson?"

"Heh…not really…that was just a joke."

Now Kenny spoke, "Actually I was gonna test my new detector. But Tyson suggested that I could check whether this thing could be used for spying…you see with this extension, I can detect signals from about a 20m distance. This is weak. I should be able to improve on it."

"Oh…I don't exactly understand what you're saying, but why is everybody hiding?"

"That…we had a bet on something. Kenny and I won it," Hill said.

"And what was that?" I asked.

"Who was gonna arrive first? You or Katya? We came at around 8:30 and were searching for place to hide the laptop. That's when we saw you coming. It was surprising to find you come first; moreover half an hour early? So we decided to hide and watch what happens next."

Katya looked at me.

"I had nothing else to do" I said turning away.

"Now we owe them a treat at The Scoops. It was a tie? You were great Katya." Max said with an excited voice.

"Thank you Max," she smiled.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah you were great too, Kai," Max winked at me.

"Not that. Katya, if I'm not mistaken your bit beast…it is a phoenix, isn't it?"

I asked her.

"Yeah, it is," it was a plain reply.

"It was magnificent. It was beautiful when it came out of the blade. Very beautiful," Hillary sounded amazed.

Beautiful just like you, Katya. In the moonlight, with her long auburn hair flowing down her shoulders, in the cold breeze…she looked like an angel from the heavens. This is the first time I've felt about a girl like this. This is crazy. _Snap out of it Kai._

'You've fallen for her, 'I heard a voice in my head.

_I didn't, Dranzer. Don't make it even more complicated._

'Is it already complicated enough?'

_Don't mess with my mind._

'I'm talking about your heart.'

Her eyes, her smile, he voice…every thing about her captivated me. Is it what they call love? But I don't want it. I just don't…

'You are fighting with yourself Kai. Don't do it. It'll be good for you. Why don't you try living a life at least once?' Dranzer sounded serious.

_Good for me? It won't be good for her. For me to live a life, I can't ruin hers._

Dranzer didn't answer. Because even he knew that I was right. I can't love or be loved. I _must_ not.

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><p>Review please! I'd love to get some suggestions from my readers!<p>

**Suspense is the key to my story. Lots of twist and turns greet you as you read on.**

**I hope you enjoy my story. Have fun! :-D  
><strong>


	2. Daichi's new friend

[General POV]

_Next day…_

_After lunch…_

"Wanna come?" the 'new girl' asked Kai.

"I'll pass," he said looking away from her.

"No, you're coming," she stood in front of him now and he had to stop.

"Move," his eyes were not meeting hers.

"Look at me. I really don't know what's wrong with you. You don't even look at me when I talk to you. You kept avoiding me all day. Did I do something terrible? I'm really sorry," she sounded miserable.

Her tone made him look at her. Her amber eyes were magnetic. He couldn't help staring at them.

"Kai? You there…?"

"Yeah, I'll see," he couldn't refuse after looking at her.

"Great. Let's go to class."

They were in the same class, 3-1. The others were in class 3-2. Ray was visiting them. He didn't go to school since he received a different education back in China.

Kai felt like killing any guy who tried to come close to her. He couldn't concentrate in class, and it was only the second day.

_She's driving me crazy._

'You don't listen to good advice, do you?'

_Not again Dranzer. _'Fine, you'll regret it.'

_That evening…_

"Let's go," Tyson said as they stepped out of the school gates.

"Wait for Katya," the brunette was searching for Katya and she found no trace of her.

"Tell Katya I left," Kai said to Ray. He persuaded himself not to go with them. "She'll kill you," Ray's answer was even simpler. "Like that'll ever happen," Kai smirked.

"Oh yeah, it'll," Max said with a broad smile on his face.

Just then they heard someone saying "Wasn't it the new girl that Jake was hitting on? His gang was with him too. I wonder what will happen."

"Hey, where were they?" Kai asked the girl.

"They were near the music room, third floor," she was surprised by the sudden question.

All six of them (Kai, Tyson, Ray, Max, Kenny and Hillary) ran into the school building.

Meanwhile…

"Hey beautiful, wanna hang out with me? We could go on a long drive and..." Jake was standing very close to her one hand on the wall and other on her shoulder pinning her to the wall.

"Get lost Jake. I'm not interested," she was glaring at him.

"We can have some great time together," he had a wicked smile on his face and his hand slowly moved to her waist.

"Let her go," Kai said giving Jake a death glare.

Jake let go off her waist, but instead pulled her and wrapped his arm around her.

"Is she yours, Hiwatari? She's not anymore," Jake kissed her hair, and tightened his grip.

"You're dead"

Before Kai could make his move, Katya kicked Jake's leg which made him lose his balance. She pulled him by his collar and slammed him against the floor.

Shocked, Kai stopped right where he was.

Jake was writhing in pain on the floor. "You asked for it Jake. I told you I wasn't interested."

She then said to Kai, "Let's leave. He'll be fine"

Kai followed her staring at her back and so did the others.

"That was so damn cool! You can fight?" Hillary was literally jumping in front of Katya.

"Two years of Aikido," she said winking at the brunette.

"Aikido? You are pretty strong. You beat the crap out of him," Max said.

"I don't think so Max. I went easy on him. What I did was just a warning to him. He makes a move on me again, he's dead," she said looking serious.

"Why are you so angry?" Ray didn't understand the reason for her anger.

"I'm not angry. Come on Ray, angry for that? Not at all. I'm just disgusted, that's it."

"That's justified," Ray said, still not satisfied with the answer. Because she was angry and that was apparent. But he chose not continue the topic.

"Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you Russian? I mean, you even have the accent. Where did you learn aikido from?" Kenny asked. "Russian? I know I have an accent, but it's Russian?" Katya stopped and asked Kenny. She bit her lip when she realized she shouldn't have said what she just said.

They were all shocked at what she said. "You don't know that? Kai has a little of that accent too. He's also from there you see," Kenny said. "Oh, that's nice to know." She turned and started walking.

But Kai didn't start walking. "You don't know where you're from? That's a little weird,"

he was looking intently at her.

"Yeah I know it's weird. Because trust me guys, two years back I didn't even know what my name was until a nurse in the hospital told me."

"What do you mean?" Ray was curious, so were others.

"Two years back I had an accident. My parents died in that accident; I lost my memory.

Mr. Dickenson knew my parents, so he took me in. He's my guardian, until I turn 18 in December next year," Katya explained, cutting a long story short.

"Oh…we're really sorry," saying, Hillary put a hand on Katya's shoulder.

"It's alright guys. I don't care anymore. You'll miss someone only when you remember them. I don't know what or how my life was; I don't even want to know. I'm living a new life, and that's what I really care about," she said with her back towards them. But they could see her wipe her tears.

They started walking, but nobody said anything. Kai wasn't convinced. _There's more to it, _he thought.

"Guys can we walk faster? I want to get there before the shop's closed," Tyson was only thinking about the ice cream he was going to eat.

"Ice cream is all what you care about, huh?" Hillary said in an irritated tone.

"Yeah, you've any problem with that, big mouth?"

"You call me big mouth? Yours is bigger. No wonder you can stuff so much at a time."

"You're just jealous you can't eat like me, 'coz you're always on one of those diets," Tyson said sticking his tongue out.

"What? I don't diet OK? And who wants to eat like you…like…a pig."

"You…"Tyson was about to counterattack when Kenny stopped him. "Cut it out you guys," he said pushing them away from each other, "we want some peace here."

"Hey we're here. The Scoops. Treat's on us. Feast all you want," Max said opening the door.

What they saw gave them the shock of their life.

Daichi was sitting at one of the tables with a girl in front of him, busy eating ice cream and chatting.

"Daichi…" Tyson was going to run to that table, when Ray pulled him by his collar. "Shh…shut up. Let's see what happens. Looks like he didn't see us coming in."

"Daichi? Your tag team partner?" Katya said looking from Daichi to Tyson.

"Yeah, and now I know why he's been skipping practice."

"He has a girlfriend. No way! But he's just a kid," Hillary had a perplexed expression on her face.

"He's fourteen. It's alright. Well it's a little shocking though," Max said grinning.

"Let's go see who that unlucky girl is." Tyson said walking towards their table.

Kai rolled his eyes. _Why did I even bother to come!_

"You might wanna introduce us to your new friend Daichi," Tyson said grinning.

"Friend? Who is my friend? She's just my class mate. I lost a game…and what are you guys doing here?" He scanned around and his eyes found someone he didn't know.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Katya. Nice meeting you."

"Hi, I'm Nina," the girl with Daichi introduced herself.

"Hi, so you're only his class mate?" Hillary was eying her suspiciously.

"Yeah…" the girl blushed a little, and looked at Daichi.

"What? I told you something like this would happen," he was irritated.

"Mm…he kind of lost to me in a battle yesterday and I dragged him here to treat him on my win…you saw us. That's it…" the girl was looking a little embarrassed.

"So she's the one you've been talking about," Kai said, to everybody's surprise.

"Yeah…it was her. Your idea did work but I ended up losing the match." Daichi was cross.

"You guys even talk to each other?" saying, the blue haired boy looked at Kai.

"You have a problem with that?" Daichi retorted.

But Tyson wasn't even listening to Daichi. He was talking to the girl, "You defeated Daichi? Then I'm sure you're good…wanna fight me?"

"Hey! I went easy on her okay!" Daichi was trying to repair his damaged pride.

"I'm not talking to you monkey boy," Tyson said and turned to Nina, "You ready for the challenge?"

"What! I'm not sure…" she looked nervous already.

"Yeah, I think I can teach you a thing or two about balding if you're good enough."

Now the girl's face turned red. "Mm…sure. I'd love to…"

"Hey back off! She's not fighting you until I defeat her!" then Daichi turned towards the girl and said, "You owe me a rematch. Only after that you can fight him!"

"Fine…" she didn't even complete the sentence when Max asked her, "Are you really a blader? Or Daichi's covering something up?"

She was angry now and gave Max a glare. Max didn't care.

"Shut up Daichi! I don't like being insulted OK? I defeated you and looks like I've got to prove it. I'll fight you Tyson. Right now!" she said in very angry tone.

Hillary and Katya were amused. A girl challenging Tyson and moreover she had defeated Daichi. Interesting…definitely interesting.

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><p>Review please!<p>

I hope the chapter's good. I'm trying really hard to put more humor into it. You'll definitely find my efforts paying off in the coming chapters.

Suggestions welcome :-)


	3. A New Home

[**Author's note**: Kai and Ray - 18; Max, Kenny, Katya -17; Tyson, Hillary - almost 18; Daichi, Nina - 14]

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><p><em>An hour later…<em>

Now they were convinced that the girl had indeed defeated Daichi. Tyson managed to defeat the girl, but it was a close call. The girl even had a bit beast, rock type, Dretorial.

"Oh my God! You were amazing! Nina…isn't it? So you have team?" Katya asked to her.

"No. I don't have a team. My dad doesn't let me go out you see. It's been two years since I even left this neighborhood," saying that she shrugged.

"Huh, why?"

"I don't know. Don't ask me. I just got used to it."

Just then Kai remembered something, "I know you. You are Mr. Gardiner's daughter, aren't you?"

"You have a sharp memory Kai or should I say Mr. Hiwatari?" she said with a smirk.

"Kai would do. There's no need to be formal. You don't seem to have gotten over it," he returned her smirk.

"Oh no. I don't care. Who even wants to accompany a sourpuss like you to a boring party?"

"I don't do babysitting either," he said. They were glaring at each other.

"Hey you know each other?" Daichi said confused.

"Yeah. He and my dad are supposed to be business partners," she said now looking at Daichi.

"What? Business partners? Kai, you own a company or something?" Katya was even more curious.

Kai didn't answer.

Ray answered instead, "He's the President of The Hiwatari Enterprise."

"What!"

"Not really. I don't do anything. They needed the family name to keep the thing running and so I signed a few papers. That's it." Kai didn't like being called the President or even the mention of his position.

"That's so cool! A president at….?" Katya looked at Hillary and Hillary knew what Katya wanted. "At eighteen," Hillary said.

"Yeah, President at eighteen, that's totally awesome."

"A change in topic would be really good," Nina said with her hands folded across her chest. For once even Kai agreed with her.

"Now what?" Max asked.

"Ice cream! This battle doubled my hunger!" Tyson was heading towards The Scoops already.

After they had their ice-cream, Nina's ride arrived to take her home.

They decided to head home after that.

"So which way are you going Katya?" Kenny asked.

"I'll head back to the BBA head quarters. Mr. Dickenson and I will go home after he's done with his work."

"You're staying at Mr. D's place? But isn't it really far from school?" Tyson asked.

"Yeah, I realized that today. Even Mr. D was saying that I should find a place nearer to school and he'll make suitable arrangements for me to live there."

"You'll stay alone?" Hillary asked wide eyed.

"I might. I haven't decided anything yet," Katya said.

The idea of Katya living alone bothered Kai. He almost wanted to ask Katya to stay at his place, but managed to keep his mouth shut.

"Let's go to the head quarters and meet Mr. D. It's been a long time since we've met him. What do you say?" Max said. "Good idea, Max. You don't have to walk all the way alone." Ray said looking at Katya.

"Thanks a lot guys," Katya said with a smile. And Kai's heart skipped a beat. _That is not supposed to happen to you. Get a grip Kai. _Kai scolded himself. But he couldn't help staring at her.

Mr. Dickenson was in an important meeting, so they had to wait for him.

"Miss Katya, it's you. And Tyson and his team? You'll have to wait for another fifteen minutes. He's in a very important meeting," Mr. Dickenson's secretary said to them when they entered Mr. Dickenson's office.

"Oh…it's fine. We'll wait." Katya took them into Mr. Dickenson's empty office.

About half an hour later, Mr. D entered his office to see his favorite team waiting for him.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. I see all four of you are together again. It's been a long time since I've seen something like this," Mr. D said. He wanted the Bladebreakers together again. It was a team he was very proud of. If anybody could solve the problem brewing at that moment, it was that team. All four of them together with Daichi and Katya, were going to be invincible. That was the plan behind bringing Katya to Tokyo, to Tyson and the rest of the team.

But the heroes had something else in mind. "Oh no Mr. D, I am only visiting. I might leave at the end of next month." Ray said immediately, remembering his promise to the White Tigers team and to Mariah. Mr. D sighed. He knew Ray would never leave his team. Not for anything in this world. But when he comes to know something about his past, a miracle might happen. Mr. D hoped such a situation wouldn't arise. That was going to be the last resort. The less these teens knew about their past, the better.

"Katya… looks like you've made friends. I'm happy you did," Mr. D said to the girl who was looking at him anxiously. He didn't want her to notice that he was worried about something.

"Mr. D, Katya was talking about moving to a place nearer to school. You've found a place yet?" Hillary asked Mr. D. The thought of Katya living alone, didn't seem really good to her.

"No Hillary, I haven't. She plans to live alone and I'm dead against it. But we have no choice. She has to move closer to school; otherwise it'll be very difficult for her."

"Mr. Dickenson, if you don't mind she can stay at my place," Kai kicked himself in his head. _There you said it, idiot._

"You sure Kai? Wouldn't that be trouble?"

"No, Mr. D, not at all. The house is too big for me anyway. Ray will be staying with us. And the servants are there to take care of anything else," Kai said trying to assure Mr. D that it won't be just Katya and he, living in the house.

"Well…I don't mind. What about you Katya?"

"I…I don't mind. Whatever you feel is right Mr. Dickenson. Thanks Kai," she looked at Kai with gratitude in her eyes.

He felt uneasy. He wasn't doing her any favor. In fact, he was being selfish. He hated himself for what he was doing. "Anytime."

Tyson and others were glad at the sudden turn of events. Kai had done a wise thing by asking Katya, they thought. Hillary was relieved. Ray was also delighted to have company. It would be more fun.

He and Kai hardly slept. They talked in the night about all sorts of things and sometimes even battled and trained. They had become very close over the past two months, and he came to know a lot about Kai. But the only thing he couldn't do was pull Kai out of the darkness he was living in. He tried a lot, but after several unsuccessful attempts he realized that it was not for him to do. The special person was yet to arrive. Or has she arrived? He looked at Katya and something about her made him feel that she was the one for Kai.

"So when will you move in?" Ray asked Katya.

"Tomorrow, after school, if that's fine, Kai?" Katya looked at Kai.

"Oh that's fine. I'll get your room ready by then," he said. He knew the room that he would give her. He was excited, happy and his heart wouldn't stop beating unusually fast.

This was all new to him, feelings he never had before. But like always, he had answers for everything. He wanted her.

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><p>Review please! :-)<p> 


	4. An Unexpected Guest

[**Author's note**: Mariah - 17]

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><p><em>Kai<em>

I've been trained to rein my emotions, not to let them get the better of me. But I met people who taught me it wasn't a bad thing to believe, to show emotions, though I haven't really shown much of them. The only time I get in touch with my emotions is when I battle. They are my power, my driving force.

But my heart and my mind say two different things now; and it's my heart that wins over my mind.

'It's not bad Kai, to listen to your heart once in a while.' Dranzer started it again. But I didn't respond. I didn't know what to say, because I seem to agree with him, at least my heart does.

I rolled in my bed, but couldn't sleep. I got up put on my shirt, and walked out of my room. I walked into the room that Katya was going to stay in. It was the one beside mine.

When I asked Thomas to get the room cleaned and prepared for her, Ray just smiled at me. He had me figured out. Was it that obvious?

It was a big one. The huge balcony was all cleaned up. The bed sheets, the curtains were a very light shade of pink, very pleasant. I hope she likes it. 'I think you should just give in and tell her,' was Dranzer's advice. _And she'll walk right out of my life. There's still time Dranzer._ 'Well, I'm glad that you're at last listening and being true to your feelings.'

There's one thing that I haven't understood yet. Why did I fall for her?

I went over everything that had happened after she entered my life.

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><p>'<em>Hey, Katya! You are coming for the party this Saturday?' Jason asked her.<em>

'_No, I've got some unfinished business to do that evening. I'm sorry,' she said with an apologetic look on her face._

'_Aww…that's bad. You should come; it'll be lot of fun. Anyway I hope you change your mind,' he said and went to his girlfriend, a blonde, petite, cheerleader, who was cross with him for some stupid reason, again._

_Katya got up from her chair and turned around to look at me. I'd been staring at her for a while now, and she didn't seem to realize that. I turned away, pretending to look at something outside. She surprised me, when she occupied the empty chair beside me._

'_You haven't got any friends in this class, have you?'_

_I didn't reply._

'_They're jerks, every one of them, except for those few. They are nice. I've talked to them,' she pointed out the trio, even I considered to be the only decent people in the class, Ralph, Sisi and Kyle._

_I looked at them and nodded._

'_Kai, start talking before you forget how to. Okay?'_

_I shot her a glare. 'Oh no, don't do that. It won't work on me. You should open up a little Kai. It won't kill you, in fact I have a feeling you're a great guy to hang out with,' she said with a smile. I raised an eyebrow, and said, 'Trust me, I'm not.'_

'_No, you trust me. You are,' she said playing with her hair._

'_Are you asking me out?' _

'_Oh my god! You think I have the guts to do that Kai?' she said, her voice filled with sarcasm._

'_What do you want?'_

'_I'm bored.'_

'_What do I do then?'_

'_Nothing, bear with me for another forty minutes.'_

'_I highly doubt I can do that. Because you're doing nothing that's helping it.'_

'_Really? I'm bugging you?' she paused, looked around and then looked back at me, 'Let's go to the terrace.'_

'_What?'_

'_Yeah, let's go upstairs. Please…'_

'_You're crazy,' I concluded._

'_You really are a wet blanket.'_

'_You were saying something very contradicting just a few moments ago,' I said. She's one crazy person. She doesn't have the slightest clue about what she's doing or saying. _

'_I still think so. You know what Kai, the same emotions that make you an amazing blader, will also make you an amazing person, if you showed some that is. I know this is weird but I just can't help thinking about it. I hope I haven't offended you in any way.'_

_This completely caught me off guard. I couldn't say a word. She cared about me? I turned to look at her. Her amber eyes were magnetic; I felt I could just drown in them and never come back. The smile was still there on her face. A soft one telling me that she believed in me. Why? Why does she even care about me? There never was person who said that to me. Ray was different, he was a friend, a very close friend. But Katya? She was a stranger. She had no right to say all that to me. Yet, I couldn't say anything. I couldn't push her away from me. In fact, I wanted her to come closer to me. Stay by my side. I wanted to trust her, love her. I felt like she could heal my emotional wounds, wounds that I thought would torment me my entire life._

'_Kai? You're spacing out again…'_

'_No, you haven't. You didn't offend me in anyway.'_

'_I'm glad Kai,' she said and got up to leave._

'_Sit down.'_

'_What…'_

'_Sit down. You said I'll have to bear you for forty minutes,' I said pulling her seat closer to mine._

_Her face suddenly lit up. 'I see, so you're finally getting a hang of what I'm saying.'_

'_Kind of.'_

_We talked about lots of things. General things, mostly about the team. We talked about the championships. The time passed so quickly, we hardly noticed. What I had noticed was that the others in the class were staring at us, their mouths wide open. I couldn't care less about them. But it was amusing; the look on their faces was priceless. The guys were burning with anger, or I should say jealousy. They could kill to get some time of her day and I won't let them get what they want._

* * *

><p>[General POV]<p>

A sudden flash of light woke Kai up. He covered his eyes with his hand, blocking the light.

"Good morning Kai. What are you doing sleeping in Katya's bed?" Ray said leaning against the wall near the bed.

"Katya's bed? This room doesn't belong to her yet," Kai said getting up from the bed.

He couldn't believe that he went to sleep in her room.

"Ray, this didn't happen."

"Oh no, this didn't," he said with a grin.

* * *

><p>That evening after school, Katya moved into Kai's house.<p>

"Wow, your house _is _huge Kai," she said as she looked around, "A place I could get used to."

She had no idea then how true her words were, how much Kai wanted that.

Mr. Dickenson took time off his work to accompany Katya.

"That was very nice of you my boy. I'm really grateful. Now I don't have to worry about her anymore," Mr. Dickenson said to Kai, when he took leave from them.

"You don't have to. You just take care of your health and don't overwork yourself Mr. D. That would make me worry about you," Katya said helping him into the car.

After Mr. D left, Kai showed Katya her room.

"It's beautiful Kai. I love it!" she said opening the balcony door. She stretched out her hands to her sides, closed her eyes and felt the wind brush past her.

"I'm glad you do. You need anything; Thomas will be there to help you. Or the cook Hannah, she's a nice lady too. In fact she was pretty excited to have you here. My room is right beside yours so feel free to knock, if necessary," Kai said putting her luggage in one corner of the room.

"Thanks a lot Kai. This means a lot to me."

"You don't have to thank me. This is what friends are for, right?"

"Yeah" she nodded her head in agreement, with a soft smile on her face. But Kai could swear he saw tears in her eyes.

Just then he received a message. Tyson texted him.

Tyson: Cum 2 the dojo rt nw. Even Ray's here.

Kai: Coming…

* * *

><p>Kai's butler Thomas offered to drive them to the dojo, but Kai said he'd drive. Thomas didn't argue and handed the keys over to Kai.<p>

Kai brought his black BMW out of the garage while Katya waited for him near the gate.

He stopped the car beside her and opened the door for her, "Get in."

She settled down in the front seat beside Kai and fastened her seat belt. The gates opened automatically and they left for Tyson's place.

"You drive?" Katya said trying to make a talk, after sitting idly for a few minutes.

"No, I certainly don't."

"Bad joke. I don't. Will you teach me?"

"Why should I?" Kai said taking a turn.

"It might come in handy someday."

"We'll see about that. But right now you have to get down." Kai said stopping in front of the dojo.

"We're already there?" Katya said getting down.

It was a fifteen minute ride from Kai's place to Tyson's dojo.

"I see you brought the car finally. Awesome choice man," Max said moving circles around it. "What? You brought the car? I can't believe you gave her the first ride. That's not fair," Tyson said folding his hands.

"I got the first ride? That's just great," Katya said grinning at Tyson, "You jealous Tyson?"

"Jealous? I don't care. Anyway come in."

When Katya walked into the backyard, she saw man in his late sixties doing some really cool moves with a wooden sword.

"Hey Grandpa, meet Katya. Katya this is my Grandpa." Tyson said.

"Yo, nice meeting you young lady…" he stopped speaking when he saw her.

"It is pleasure meting you Mr. Granger," Katya said and gave him courteous bow.

"Grandpa…its Grandpa dear," he said to her very affectionately.

"Thanks Grandpa…"

"I'll get you homies something to eat, 'coz I hear growling somewhere."

"You're so right Grandpa. I'm starving…" Tyson said shoving his blade into its place on his left arm.

"We didn't even start practice yet Tyson!" Hillary yelled at Tyson. "Cut it out Hillary. I'm hungry and I'm eating and that's final"

"No you're not. Grandpa, there's no need to bring anything for him."

"Like he would listen to you," Tyson yelled at her.

"Oh yes he will!" They began arguing again.

"They fight like an old married couple, don't they?" Katya whispered to Max who was standing beside her.

"They're worse. You'll get used to it in no time," Max said winking at her.

"You should get married you know? You'd fit the roles very well. Just perfect!" Katya said rolling her eyes. Both Tyson and Hillary stopped fighting, looked at each other and then shrieked. "I wouldn't marry her! Even if we were the last man and woman left on Earth." Tyson said throwing Hillary a disgusted look. Hillary returned it with more disgust, "And I'm not foolish enough to dig my own grave and ruin my life with my own hands."

"Guys stop it! You're not kids okay?" Kenny intervened.

Nobody said anything but everybody knew that whatever they said was completely the opposite of what they felt about each other, of course except the two. They were too naïve to acknowledge their feelings for each other.

"Ready to battle Tyson? I'll get you today!" Daichi appeared out of nowhere.

"Dream on, Daichi. Let's do it. This should cool you down," he said to Hillary, "This will be over in a minute." Hillary threw her hands up and said, "Whatever."

"Hey, Daichi! Mind fighting me instead?" Katya popped up the question out of the blue.

Everyone turned to look at her. "Will you? Or you're just too chicken?"

"You ain't getting away with that. Tyson, you just wait. I'll fight you after I show her where she belongs." Daichi said all fired up.

"Oh really? Then show me what you got."

They got their launchers ready with the blades and their friends started the countdown.

"3…2…1…Let it rip!"

Katya took her position at the centre of the dish.

"She's starting with a defensive move. Good choice," Dizzi said and Kenny agreed with her.

"You seem to be too chicken to attack," Daichi said with a smirk on his face.

"In your dreams," Katya said with her entire focus on the match. Ray, Max and Tyson huddled behind Kenny, looking at the power levels that Dizzi was recording and analyzing. They were astounded to see that the levels were off the charts. "Daichi I have one word for you 'Beware'" Dizzi said from Kenny's laptop.

"You tell that to her. Argh…I've had enough of this. Strata Dragoon attack!"

Katya smirked and Zerona made a quick dodge. Strata Dragoon returned with the same attack again and again but she kept dodging them skillfully.

"Are you even planning to put up a fight? Because if you are not you should just quit," Daichi was losing his cool now.

"No Daichi! Don't lose your cool. That's what she's trying to do, irritate you. Don't lose your focus." Kenny gave his advice.

"I know Chief, but she's just dancing around driving me nuts!"

"Oh I'm irritating you? I'm really sorry," she said with nothing but plain sarcasm, "Zerona! It's time to show them what you got! Attack with full power!"

She struck him with full force with which she pushed Strata Dragoon to the edge of the dish.

"Daichi! Get a grip man! You can't lose!" Tyson was yelling at Daichi now.

"I know that Tyson! You don't have to tell me that…!"

"Zerona! Now is your chance. Knock him out of the dish."

"Oh no…this match is far from over," saying that Daichi called out his bit beast Strata Dragoon and so did Katya.

The two bit beasts attacked each other head on and the blades flew out of the dish together. It was a tie. Again!

"You were good…really good…" Daichi said picking up his blade.

"So were you Daichi," she said picking up hers.

Grandpa brought in some cookies and lemonade for them.

Kenny went to Katya and asked her to give her blade once. She handed it over to him. And when she did that she noticed that her blade was in a really bad shape from the battle. Daichi looked at his to realize that even his blade's condition was no different.

"The last attack was too powerful for the both of them. You shouldn't have pushed it to such extent. It was just a practice match," Kenny said checking Katya's blade, "Daichi give me yours. I bet it's in bad shape too. I'll make the repairs and give them tomorrow evening.

"What? I can't fight Tyson now?"

"I don't think so Daichi," Kenny said, now checking Daichi's blade.

[Kenny isn't the short, small boy anymore. He's only three inches shorter than Tyson and Tyson was six feet tall; he still wore his glasses the same way though.]

"Good for you," Tyson said picking up a cookie, "Let's eat guys…"

"Ray…"

Everybody turned to look at the person the voice belonged to.

Ray's eyes widened when he saw who the person was.

"Mariah?" Ray stood there frozen.

She came running to him and hugged him.

"Oh Ray…I missed you."

He hugged her back, but pulled away from her immediately.

"What are you doing here? Where are the others?"

"It's just me."

"What! You came here all alone? How did Lee even let you go?"

"I kind of had an argument with the Elders and…" Mariah paused when she saw Ray getting angry.

"An argument with the Elders? What's gotten into you Mariah?" Ray was very angry.

"They made Lee's brother the leader of the White Tiger clan!" Mariah said and let the words sink in. Clearly everyone was shocked, except Katya, who didn't have the slightest idea of what was going on. However, she knew who Mariah was.

"Wait a minute, Lee has a brother?" Tyson asked all of a sudden.

"Yeah, he does. He is a year elder to him. All these years he had been training somewhere hidden from all of us." Mariah answered.

"He returned?" that was all Ray asked.

"Not yet. But they said he'll return very soon and as soon as he comes, he'll be given the Silver Dagger," Mariah said with an anxious look on her face.

"Oh…"

"That's all you've got to say?" Mariah was shaking him now.

"That never belonged to me, Mariah. I only deserve the White Tiger, Driger."

"See…you're honest. You don't want that power or anything. They don't see it. They say whatever they want. They said they couldn't trust you, that you're are not worthy of the power. That you don't have what it takes to be the leader of the clan, just because of a stupid reason that their blood doesn't run in you! How foolish! I argued and all I got was punishment. They were going to take my Galux away! So I ran…and came to you. I had no other place to go. And the team knows I'm here," Mariah let out everything.

"You have to go back Mariah…it isn't right. It'll unnecessarily trigger a wrong impression," Ray tried to persuade Mariah to leave. The last thing Ray wanted was the Elders hurting Mariah. He didn't want them to think that he and Mariah were more than just close friends. That would definitely create serious problems.

"What do you mean by wrong impression Ray? And I just can't let them take my Galux away from me. Lee thought it would be better if I stayed away from the village until everything calmed down. That is the reason I came here," Mariah was in tears now.

"She is right Ray," it was Kai who spoke; "It is the best option. If she returns now, they might just lock her up. Because this is a serious matter; it is the matter of inheritance. Moreover if you stay put, even after knowing this news, it is a clear message to them that you don't oppose their decision."

"I can give my consent to them directly, Kai. And return her to them. They are my team Kai. I just can't leave them. I definitely don't want to make this matter more serious by letting Mariah stay here," Ray was firm on his decision.

"We can't trust them. Your team can do nothing about this. What if they try to take Driger away from you? You are the master of Driger but you're not the clan leader. I hope you're getting what I'm saying. I'm not asking you to leave the team. I'm only asking you to lay low until things cool down," Kai explained.

"You said it Kai. Thank you," Mariah said.

Ray deliberated for a moment, "May be you are right Kai. Mariah, I hope you know what you're doing."

"I know Ray. Don't worry about me."

It was decided that Mariah would stay at Kai's place. She was given the room beside Ray's.

* * *

><p><em>That night at around 10:00 PM…<em>

_The Dojo…_

"Hello, dad?" Tyson's dad said answering his phone, somewhere in Egypt.

"Son, how are you?"

"I'm fine dad. How are you and Tyson doing?"

"We're doing just fine. How is Hiro?"

"He is excellent. And he's got a surprise for you guys, when he returns next month."

"He's coming home next month?"

"Yes Dad. Why is it that you called? You sound troubled. Is there any problem?"

"Oh no son, not at all. It's been a long time since we've talked. So I just called to find out how you were."

"Alright dad, I gotta go now. Take care, the both of you."

"Sure son, you too."

He hung up, disappointed. He couldn't tell his son what he wanted to; that he had seen her that evening…someone he never expected to see. Someone who would turn their lives upside down.

* * *

><p>Review Please! :-)<p> 


	5. A New Challenge

_Mariah's room…_

Ray knocked at the door.

"Coming…" Mariah said from inside the room.

When she opened the door she found Ray standing there. "Come in Ray…"

"Sure?" he said looking at her dressed in a bathrobe and her hair wet. She had just taken a shower.

"Huh?" she then looked at herself and smiled, "It's ok…just come in."

Ray sighed. She wasn't going to listen to him, he knew that very well.

"Mariah, we should talk."

"Ray…I know you don't want me here. But, I don't have any other place to go. And I just can't…" she fell to her knees all of a sudden and started crying.

Ray was shocked. How stupid can he be? Making her cry like that…

He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Mariah…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Stop crying now…I just wanted to ask you one thing. Are you hiding anything from me?"

She clutched his hands tightly. "No Ray, I'm not. I'm equally shocked and confused. I don't understand why the Elders are doing this," she said; her tears were still flowing down her cheeks.

"Mariah, stop crying first!"

Mariah turned around to hug him. "Ray, don't leave me. Just don't tell me to leave. Please, I beg you. We'll go back together. Not now. A little later after things cool down. Please…"

But Ray couldn't hear a word. All he could hear was his heart thumping in the rib cage.

His entire concentration was on Mariah, who was right now hugging him very tightly, wearing nothing but a bathrobe. His face felt hot and his hands reached Mariah's back and caressed it. He hugged her back. His hands weren't staying still. They weren't listening to him. They suddenly wanted to untie things. _No Ray, no bad thoughts now,_ he tried his best to persuade himself.

To his relief Mariah pulled away from him. "I'm going to sleep Ray. If you don't mind, can we talk about this later?"

"Yeah sure…"

They got up from the floor and Ray turned to leave.

"Ray…" Mariah caught his hand. Ray turned to look at her.

"Thank you…" and she kissed him on his cheek. He blushed and smiled.

"You should thank Kai. This is his place," he said trying to take his mind off the fact that he wanted to kiss her back, this time not on her cheek.

Mariah smiled back at him, "I'll make sure I do. Good night Ray."

"Good night Mariah."

He walked out of the room dazed and his heart throbbing.

"I didn't expect you to come out of the room," he heard Kai say.

Kai was standing at Ray's door.

"Even I thought so. But I managed to come out," Ray said running his fingers through his hair.

"Aren't you two already dating?"

"No. What makes you say that?"

"Obvious reasons…anyway I just came to caution you. Be prepared for anything Ray. But don't worry. We won't let anything happen to you."

"Nothing will happen to me. I don't think things are as serious as Mariah says. Thanks pal, you don't worry about me. I'll be just fine," saying Ray walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. _I hope so Ray…_Kai was worried. He wasn't going to let anything happen to anyone around him. He had decided to protect everything and everyone who was dear to him. He wasn't going to lose anything again.

* * *

><p><em> Two weeks passed by without much action. Morning it was school and in the evening, training at Tyson's place.<em>

_Mariah and Katya became closer to the team as they trained along with them. Hillary, Katya and Mariah became really good friends. They went to movies, shopping and did many other things together. Another girl who was a friend of theirs was Sisi, from school._

_Sisi was Kai and Katya's classmate. She wasn't a blader but blended well with them, for she had a superior knowledge of mechanics and computers, which made Kenny accept her more easily than others. Sisi learnt about beyblade mechanics from Kenny._

_Another development was that Ray started realizing his true feelings for Mariah. He knew that Mariah loved him, but he was never sure about his own feelings for her._

_Kai was completely in love with Katya. He was getting addicted to her. He finally decided to confess to her, but for the first time in his life he was afraid of something, 'rejection'. Because, not once did Katya give him any hint about how she actually felt about him._

_Tyson and Hillary were as usual, arguing about everything possible._

_Daichi, now brought Nina to practice along with him. That was the hot topic among the girls in the team. How do we get them together? Nina clearly liked Daichi. It was shocking to them. But then certain things don't have reasons. Daichi was worse than a kindergarten kid. He was so dense, that he couldn't realize a single hint that Nina was giving him about her feelings for him. Everybody except for Daichi understood. When Hillary asked Nina about it she said, "It's alright. It's more fun like this. Even I don't want to rush things or something."_

"_She's so matured," Hillary said to the girls later on._

_So 'project DaichiXNina' was cancelled._

_Things were going smoothly when one day…_

* * *

><p><em>Hillary<em>

I woke up early today. I couldn't sleep in, even if it was a Sunday. I went downstairs to see if there was something I could help my mom in. To my surprise even my dad was at home. He had been to Russia on some business trip. There is one thing that none of the team members knew, except for Kai. My dad worked for Kai's company. He's like Kai's right hand man. No one knew about it and I didn't find the need for telling them. This is because even my dad prefers a peaceful life like me. We live in a duplex house, in this quite corner of the town. We live a middle class life, and a very happy one.

"Welcome home, dad."

"Good morning dear! Oh how long has it been since I'd seen my little girl."

Dad hugged me affectionately. It's been almost six months.

"I'll be working for a few months in the Tokyo Headquarters…like the news?" my dad said.

"That is just great dad! Just awesome!" I said hugging him again.

"So can I expect little more of your presence at home, now that your father is here?" my mom joined us, giving us our break fast.

"Mom!"

"You don't stay at home much?" my dad asked me, still smiling. He's always on my side.

"Oh no. She only comes home to sleep. She spends more time at the dojo than she does here. And worst, she completely forgot her mother," there was gonna be no end to my mother's list of complaints.

"I didn't forget you mom! Of course not. We do all sorts of things together. I manage my time very well."

"Now, now, by the dojo, you mean Tyson's place?" dad asked mom.

"Yeah"

"It's alright dear. Your daughter is an important part of the team, from what she keeps telling me. The team won a championship, didn't it?"

That's my dad.

"I know that. It's just that I'm worried. She's not a kid anymore," she said beating eggs.

My face reddened. I don't believe she said that, that too in front of dad. It was so embarrassing.

"Mom! I can't believe you just said that," saying I rolled my eyes.

My dad was just smiling at me, eating his breakfast. I couldn't swallow another bite.

We've had this discussion before.

* * *

><p>"<em>Are you dating that boy?" my mom asked me all of a sudden.<em>

"_What? Who?"_

"_Tyson…"_

"_No way! What makes you say that?"_

"_You spend most of your time, in fact all your time with him."_

"_I spend my time with the team! Not just him!"_

"_And all you talk about is him."_

"_I…I…"_

_I didn't know what to say, because what mom said was true. I had feelings for him, strong feelings. But was that only friendship or something more, I had no idea._

"_Look mom. We're not going to have this discussion again. I'm not going out with him and that's the truth."_

* * *

><p>My phone started ringing. It was Katya.<p>

"Hill! You've got to come to the dojo immediately. It's very important!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Come fast," she was very excited about something.

"Coming…" saying I hung up.

"See…I told you. She's leaving and she won't come back until late in the evening."

Be happy I'm not coming home late in the night. Then I said to dad, "Sorry dad. Gotta go. Duty calls."

He said, "I know," and smiled.

Thirty minutes later I was hurrying into the dojo, wondering what it was that Katya and the others gathered at the dojo so early on a Sunday.

I opened the door and suddenly ran into someone. Before I could regain my balance, I tripped and fell to ground, along with that someone. And then it happened. The unimaginable, the unthinkable; I thought these things happened only in the movies or fairy tales. But it happened to me. I felt his lips touch mine, just for a moment, but long enough to realize who they belonged to. Tyson! He was all over me, with a shock on his face. I was equally shocked. That didn't happen! That shouldn't have happened!

"Oh my God! Are you guys alright?" Mariah came running to us. She suddenly stopped and asked, "You seem to be very comfortable down there, aren't you?"

"What?" I looked at her once and then at Tyson. He didn't move an inch. I finally found my voice, "Tyson get off me!" and pushed him. By that time even the others arrived at the spot. Tyson didn't say a word. Just got up and stood to a side. He didn't even help me get up. Katya did. "Are you hurt?" she asked concerned.

"I'm fine"

"You Tyson?" she asked Tyson.

"Fine"

What's wrong? Why isn't he saying anything? He should have something irritating by now. That means what I thought just happened wasn't my imagination. And he is disturbed because of it. Oh no…

"Let's go to backyard, come." Katya dragged me along with her.

Tyson followed with the others, his eyes fixed on me.

Mr. Dickenson was standing there with an envelope in his hand.

"What is it? Why is Mr. D here?" I whispered to Katya.

"Looks like the team got itself a challenge from a new team," Mariah said positioning herself beside Ray.

"I smell trouble," I said looking at Kenny.

"I know what you're thinking Hill," Kenny said typing the team's name into the laptop, "but this team seems to be fair enough. They are on my database. They've won several tournaments in Russia and Europe. They just want to challenge the reigning world champions. So they asked for a friendly match."

"There is a correction in that Kenny. Not the reigning world champions, they said they wanted to fight the Bladebreakers," Mr. D said to everybody's surprise.

"But the Bladebreakers don't exist anymore, do they?" Daichi popped up a delicate question.

Mr. D had his answer ready for him, "But the G Revolution does, doesn't it? Moreover the team has five members. So it is going to be a five on five match."

"It has been decided already?" I asked wide eyed.

"Yeah, we're fighting them." Max said, "It would be like a warm up for the championships."

"Championships?" I almost screamed. What was going on?

"Mr. D just gave the news. We get a sneak peek at tomorrow's headlines. Championships in two months," Max said excited.

"Wow…that's some news…but would it be wise to fight this team just before the championships? I mean they'd compete too right?" I asked Mr. D.

"Somebody understands…I'm glad," Kai said to me. I guess he shared my opinion.

"Oh come on Kai, it wouldn't be that bad," Tyson said.

"Yeah, it would be great. Like Max said it would be a warm up," Mariah backed Tyson up.

"Let's vote then. Everybody who wants a battle?" I volunteered.

The hands that didn't shoot up were me, Kai and Ray, besides Mr. D. He wasn't voting.

"Looks like we're gonna battle them. When is it gonna be Mr. D?" I had a strong feeling that even that was already decided and I was right.

"We're going to battle them in a week and the place hasn't been decided yet. I'll inform you as soon as it is decided." Mr. D said.

"A week? That gives us so less time to train," Katya spoke.

"Don't worry; I'll have them whipped into shape in no time." I said taking my stand.

"And who made you the leader?" Tyson said hitting me on my head. That's it. I've had it. He's been doing that for a while now and it's irritating me.

"I don't need your permission," I said hitting him back.

"Ow…I didn't hit you that hard."

"You shouldn't have hit me at all."

The next day morning when the newspaper came out, it brought a sensation with it. We all gathered in the dojo, gaping at the sensation printed in the Sports page.

* * *

><p>Review Please!<p>

I hope the chapter was good and you liked the story so far.

I've a lot in store for the readers, so keep encouraging me and you can do it by reviewing.


	6. The Championships

Another chapter here.

I'm trying to write better and make the story interesting.

You can definitely help me with that.

Just Review!

* * *

><p>[Still Hillary's POV]<p>

BEYBLADE

CHAMPIONSHIPS AT A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

_ Mr. Dickenson, Chairman of Beyblade Battle Association, made an announcement that shook the beyblading world. _

_Now quickly going through the details:_

_Zones participating:_

_BBA Japan – The reigning world champions_

_BBA Russia_

_BBA America_

_BBA Europe_

_BBA Asia_

_A collaboration of BBA Australia and BBA Africa_

_Each zone will have two teams representing it. Therefore a surprising number of twelve teams will be competing in the championships. This is an all time high, because until now, the maximum number of teams participating was only six! The most surprising, rather shocking fact is that it is the BBA directors of the zones, who will be choosing which teams will represent their zones in the championships. They will get to pick from a bunch of twelve teams sorted according to their rankings. These rankings will be given to the teams based on their past performances, as well as their performance in the preliminaries conducted in these zones, for three days, in the second week of this month. Enthusiastic bladers can compete in the preliminaries conducted in the zones nearest to them._

_There will be no formation of teams based on the outcome of the preliminaries. All the players have to do is make sure they make it to the list of the top bladers. The list will, no doubt, be based on their performances in their respective zones. It is from this list that the twelve teams will be formed. The team or the zone is not the player's choice._

_The teams will chosen by the Directors, in a conference (more precisely an auction!) that will be held two weeks after the preliminaries. The battle schedule and the format of battle will be announced on that day, after the teams are chosen._

_The question that shook the beyblading world was, 'Is beyblading becoming a commercial sport?' _

_Mr. Dickenson however denies this. _

"_Yes it is true that the selection of the teams by the Directors of BBA will be in the form of an auction, but there isn't any buying and selling that will take place, I can assure that. This I say, with no hesitation, because we have always believed in the true spirit of beyblading and will keep believing in that. The fall of BEGA, exemplifies the very same thing. And we definitely won't commit the mistake twice."_

_This was what Mr. Dickenson said in his letter to the Editors of the paper media._

_But it is an open secret that the sponsors of the tournament this year are multinational companies, from all fields possible: Engineering and Technology, even Fashion and Cosmetics!_

_This year's tournament isn't going to be like the ones preceding it. The twelve lucky teams are in for some major action, inside as well as outside the battle ground._

* * *

><p>"What the hell is this?" I asked, still staring at the paper.<p>

"Does anybody here understand what they're tryin' to say?" Daichi asked with a question mark on his face.

"Hmmm…guess we have to figure that out first," Tyson said.

"What's there to figure out? They're doing what BEGA did, but in a more refined way," Max said all of a sudden.

"Oh no, not all Max. There's a lot of difference. One thing, it is the BBA. Another major difference is that there is no Boris in this," Katya said grabbing the paper.

"You know him?" Ray asked her.

"Of course! He was on TV. And he certainly didn't look like a nice guy," Katya said shrugging.

"That's an understatement," said Kai and smirked.

"But why cosmetics and fashion industries?" I asked.

"Excellent publicity. A really good business strategy," Katya said.

"What do you mean?" Tyson asked.

"I mean beyblading is the only sport where the players aren't paid a single penny. Considering the fact that beyblading has huge fandom, it is a very good publicity move. All they have to do is setup hoardings at the stadiums and people coming for the matches will notice them. And you also have these commercial breaks during the telecast of the matches. The volume of money that gets circulated during the matches is beyond your wildest imagination. Not even a single penny goes to the players. Then where is it going?" Katya paused as we realized the answer to her question.

"To the pockets of the sponsors," Daichi said to everybody's surprise.

"You're smart," Katya said to him.

"So they've found a potential profit in investing in this sport. By making this big, they're not just bringing name and fame to the players but also to their own companies," Katya ended her only logical explanation to my question.

"We could really use you. I mean you'd make a really good entrepreneur," Kai said.

It's true. Dad could really use a person like her. She's smart.

"So guys don't be surprised if you start getting endorsement offers," Kenny said.

We laughed. "I'd totally be Apple's new icon," Dizzi faked excitement.

"Dizzi…I'm joking. That might not happen," Kenny said typing something into his laptop.

"Yeah, whatever. All I want is the championship title. I've won three times in a row now. It'd be a piece of cake," Tyson said standing up.

Kai was about to say something when Katya stepped in, "Oh don't get so cocky Tyson. What if Kai makes the cut this time? Or it can be even Ray or Max. And don't forget Daichi. Or it can be even me," she said and stood in front of Tyson.

"You? You've got to be kidding me," Tyson said a little perplexed.

"Well why not? I'm competing too this time. Don't you get it? All I've to do is make it to the list."

"Yeah, that's the spirit Katya," Ray said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Way to go girl," Mariah backed her up.

"That's just great. Looks like you have your work cut out for you Tyson," Max said.

Kai stood leaning to the wall, smiling at Katya. He was actually smiling. Wow, his face didn't crack under the pressure. Does he like her? Oh my god! He likes her. It's written all over his face.

"You should smile more often. You look really good when you smile," I said standing beside him.

He stopped smiling and looked at me. That was a mistake. I'm so stupid, how did I dare say that to him.

"You think so? Katya says the same thing," he said.

"You fell for her, didn't you?"

"What gave it away?"

"I knew it. It's written all over your face, Kai. I'm so happy for you," I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Kai in love? Katya definitely changed him. We were close friends now. These two years did deepen our friendship.

"I didn't tell her yet. I don't think she feels the same about me. And with the championships coming, I'll be leaving to join the Blitzkrieg boys. So…"

"You know what Kai? You're made for each other. And if you are, you will be together no matter what comes between you. I'm saying that because, I think she likes you too. And you made the right choice. I'm sure there's no other person in this world who can understand you better than her. And I'm not kidding," I said. He needed a push and I did what a friend should do.

He looked at her and then back at me, "You make it look so easy, Hillary."

* * *

><p><em>Tyson<em>

I didn't expect them to gang up on me.

Daichi sat there ginning at me. That brat, he's gonna get it. I'll win this, I know it. Someone's missing. Where's Hillary?

I saw her talking to Kai. My thoughts wandered off to the little encounter we had. That was awkward… I don't even want to think about it. But my thoughts keep going back it. She looks fine. In fact she seems to have forgotten all about it. I should be doing the same thing. That wasn't even a kiss! That was an accident. That's it, it's just an accident.

We decided to start training right from that day. Training for the match with the new team and for the preliminaries. Max, Ray and Kai decided to leave the day after the match to join their teams. This would leave them very less time to train with their teams, but they decided to stay and take up the challenge.

* * *

><p><em>Two days before the challenge…<em>

Katya and Mariah worked hard along with us. Mariah was definitely stronger than before.

"I might become your tag team partner Ray, if the championship turns out to be tag team tournament," Mariah said winking at Ray. Ray smiled and said, "It would be fun…"

"Really…?" Mariah asked.

"Yeah," Ray said.

'I love you', that is what he should be saying to her. I don't understand why he's struggling so much to say that.

"Mariah, I've to tell you something," Ray finally said.

"Not now Ray. I don't think i would want to hear it yet," she said turning away, leaving Ray heart broken.

"I don't believe she said that. After all that you did for her and leading you on like that…" I couldn't control my anger.

"Tyson don't say another word about her," Ray was angry. When I saw the look on his face, I backed down.

"Ray, it's alright…" Max put his hand on Ray's shoulder.

After that Ray just left. Max tried to go after him but Kai stopped him. "He will be fine," he said.

* * *

><p><em>Ray<em>

Mariah… Why are you doing this to me? You make me feel like I'm the only one for you, the next moment you break my heart. What did I even do? Why don't you trust me? I'll protect you from everything that's stopping you from telling me that you love me, I promise.

I wanted say this to her. But she didn't even want to listen to me. What is going on? What is it that she's afraid of?

I haven't received a single letter from Lee since the time Mariah came here, not even after the announcement of the championship. What happened to the team? Does this have anything to do with the return of Lee's brother? I hope not…

* * *

><p>[General POV]<p>

_White Tiger Hills…_

"That's enough Grandfather! Not another word about Ray," Lee turned to his brother who was standing beside his grandfather with his hands folded across his chest, "Ray is leading us in the championships. Not you! And leave Mariah alone! She loves Ray more than anything in this world. She'll never agree to marry you."

He turned to his grandfather again, "How can you do this to her? She is only seventeen…and you want to get her married at such a young age?"

"Lee, I didn't say now, did I? It'll be next year when she turns eighteen. They'll only be engaged now, that's it. And you say she loves Ray, right? That isn't love. She only likes him very much. They're just close friends. I hope you realize that. She was an orphan Lee. After her mother died we took her in and brought her up. It's time she showed her gratitude by bearing the heir to the clan. There isn't a better choice than her. Trust me you'll know the reason very soon," his grandfather said in a composed manner.

"You don't understand!" Lee growled at his brother and his grandfather and stomped out of the room.

"I think you should tell him why we're doing this. He'll understand if you tell him," Lee's brother said.

Ren, Lee's brother was tall and had a well built body. He had long silver hair, tied into a ponytail and a fair skin. He was nothing like Lee, for he got his looks from his mother, not his father. Not just his looks, his attitude was passed genetically to him from his mother. He had green eyes also his mother's.

"Looks like this Ray means a lot to them. So let's use him as a bait to get the team together," he said with a smirk.

"What will you do?" the old man said unaware of his grandson's plans.

"Avenge my parents' death."

"He was my son first then your father…"

"Don't worry grandfather; you'll have your taste of it too. You deal with the team. I'll go get Mariah and if possible the White Tiger too."

"Don't even try. It'll destroy you even if you manage to capture it. They're more powerful than ever, all the five sacred spirits," the old man advised his grandson.

"Fine…" he said and walked towards the door. He paused and turned to his grandfather, "I'll need the Silver Dagger. Give it to me," he said.

"It's yours boy," his grandfather said. He walked to a box adorned with precious jewels and opened it. The Silver Dagger lay there, wrapped in silk.

The old man took it out and handed it to his grandson. It was magnificent. The blade of the dagger was ivory clad, with beautiful golden etchings on it. Ren admired its beauty for a moment and tucked it away in his waist band.

* * *

><p>Please Review!<p>

I'd really love to to get suggestions from my readers! :-)


	7. The Dark Knights

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

><p><em>Katya<em>

_The day of the tournament…_

We assembled at the BBA headquarters, where we waited along with Mr. D for the bus that was going to take us to the place where we were going to battle The Dark Knights. Yeah, that was the team's name. I had a nice laugh when I heard the name. Must be Batman fans, I thought.

We boarded the bus and left for the place of battle. Kai seated himself in the backseat and there's no way I'm gonna let him sit there alone. So I sat down right beside him. That's when I heard Tyson say, "Just look at love birds. So cute," standing beside a seat with his hand on it. No one said anything but were definitely giggling.

Kai gave him a death glare but I just said, "Why Tyson, are you jealous that you don't have a girl to sit with you like this?" Kai smirked at him. Tyson arched an eyebrow and said, "I don't need one. Definitely not one like you."

That brought tears to my eyes. I moved away from Kai. I never thought he'd think about me like that. "That's enough Tyson," Hillary smacked him on the head.

Kai clenched his fists. Even Ray was angry. Max was apologizing for Tyson's words. I wiped the tears off my face. Mariah and Kenny were giving me apologetic looks too. That's when I got back to my senses and said with a smile on my face, "Of course not Tyson. You'll definitely find someone much better than me."

He looked at me wide eyed, walked up to me and said, "Hey I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it that way. I swear I didn't. I'm really sorry. All I meant was that…"

"It's alright. No offense taken. Now don't spoil you're mood. We're heading for tournament that we've to win."

"We'll win it. There's no doubt about that. And thank you…" he said and went back to his seat. Now it was my turn to be surprised. Why did he thank me?

Well, I just sat there texting Sisi.

Kai was sitting beside me looking outside, with his chin resting on his hand popped up on the hand rest. The most handsome guy I'd ever seen. Hillary says I'm an extremely patient girl, putting up with his glares and curt replies. But, I never felt that what people said about him was true. It's like I see him as a completely different person. I love talking to him. Just being around him makes me feel so much more secure… I don't know if that's how i should put it. Maybe, because I feel I don't have to worry about anything. He listens to me, he doesn't speak much though. At first I wanted him to talk, but now I feel his silence speaks more than his words.

[General POV]

A few heads turned back to see if Katya was fine. She was busy texting, so they thought she'd gotten over it. An hour passed by, and they still hadn't reached their destination.

Tyson was becoming impatient. "Mr. Dickenson! When are we gonna get there?"

"We've arrived Tyson," he said and pointed at the gates of a huge castle.

Yes, a castle was the right word for it. "What the hell is this?" it was Tyson this time, "Are we here for a Ball or what?"

"Nope Tyson…we're not," Hillary said getting down from the bus. One by one, the team got down from the bus.

"Okay…this is bizarre. What are we doin at a castle? Aren't we supposed to go to some stadium?" Max said.

"Castles do have battle dishes. Don't you remember the place Johnny battled Kai? It was Robert's castle, wasn't it?" Ray said.

"You have a sharp memory, pal. But how do we get in?" Tyson asked.

"Leave that to me boys," Mr. Dickenson said and pressed a red button beside the huge gate.

A male voice suddenly spoke, "Mr. Dickenson! What a pleasure! You've finally come with your team. Our boys are pretty excited to meet them. I'll send Gordon to show you the way."

"So there are no girls on the team huh? That's bad…" Mariah said shrugging.

They saw man dressed in a uniform generally servants working in such royal places wear, come to the gate and open it. He said, "Welcome to Kozlov mansion. Master Kozlov is waiting for you in the garden. I'll show you the way. Please follow me," in a Russian accent. Kai grimaced. "What is it Kai? You look troubled…" Katya asked concerned.

"Nothing. Let's go," was all he said.

"Russians huh? Interesting," Tyson said with sarcasm. The thought of Russia always made him sick. They were taken to garden behind the mansion. The team was waiting for them there.

It was a team of five boys about eighteen years old. There was a young man in his late twenties, who was busy talking to them. When he saw Mr. Dickenson enter the garden, he came to greet him with a broad smile on his face.

"Hello Mr. Dickenson. How are you?" it was the same voice that came from the speaker near the gate.

"I'm fine Ivan. How are you?" said Mr. Dickenson and shook hands with the man.

The man now turned to the team and said, "It's a pleasure to have you here. This is my team," he said pointing to the boys, "Come let me introduce you to them."

The G-Revolution felt a little uncomfortable. They looked at each other once, shrugged and followed him. When the team approached their hosts, the 'Knights' got up from their places. They seemed decent enough. The girls found them intimidating. But it turned out that only Hillary felt intimidated, because Mariah said, "They're kind of hot, aren't they?" Hillary was about to question that when Katya agreed with Mariah, "They are…" much to the displeasure of Ray and Kai. The topic of discussion, that is the 'hot' guys, noticed the girls, and they looked at each other with amused expressions.

The Bladebreakers (G-Revolution minus Daichi) were now pissed off. Daichi was of course oblivious to all this and so were the girls.

"I'm Ivan Kozlov, the team coach. This is my brother and team captain, Andrei."

Andrei gave a courteous nod and a special nod just for the girls. The girls didn't react much this time. They just smiled.

Andrei was a tall guy with blonde hair and blue eyes, the typical prince figure in a fairly tale. Charming, the girls thought.

"This is Denis," Ivan pointed to a guy with brown hair and the color of his eyes matched his hair. He seemed the most notorious of the pack. He too gave a courteous nod but smirked at Kai. Kai smirked back at him. _Wrong move_, Kai thought.

"I'm Alexander," the third member of the team introduced himself. Alexander had a pleasant demeanor. He was red head with long hair tied in a pony tail.

The fourth one was Mikhail, he had brown hair too. He was equally nice. "This is Dimitri," Ivan introduced the final member of the team. He had silver hair and silver eyes, a very rare sight.

He smiled, but his eyes were cold. This disturbed Katya. She had seen those eyes somewhere. They sent chills down her spine. Their eyes met and she was freaking out inside. When he looked away from her she felt a lot calmer. _I've seen him before. At least those eyes, I did. Where is it? Do I know him from my past? It must be,_ she thought.

They wore stylish clothes, probably designer wear.

"Shall we start the match?" Daichi interrupted, "We're here to fight, aren't we?"

Ivan let out a laugh and said, "You have a really eager teammate here."

"I hope he's as tough," Alexander said.

"You bet I'm," Daichi said taking his blade out. "I'm sure you're," Ivan said, "then it's decided; first match will be between Daichi and Alexander. Let's proceed to the arena."

He took them to a tall tower like structure. He opened the door and they entered it to see an elevated platform that had battle dish. The place could hold about a hundred people!

Four long poles stood at the four corners of the platform, their use not understood.

Daichi and Alexander positioned themselves on either side of the dish and their teams took their places behind them.

"Hey Daichi! Show 'em what your made of!" Katya said.

"Oh I'll show them!" Daichi said.

"Let's see about that kid. But, don't go crying when you lose," Alexander said.

Ivan suddenly became serious. "No more trash talk. Let's start the match. Players, be ready," he said. Daichi and Alexander locked their blades in the launchers and inserted the ripcords.

"3…2…1…Let it rip!"

Their blades started circling around in the dish. Alexander made the first move and attacked Daichi. It threw Daichi's blade back by a few inches. "Hey! Strata Dragoon attack!" Daichi made his move too. The blades attacked each other head on.

"Look at this, guys! Both Alexander and Daichi have the same energy levels. It is game of equals. Ivan didn't make a spontaneous decision. This is well planned move," Kenny said. "I knew it! I did see devil's horns on his head," Dizzi added.

"Now what Chief? That match is far from over. What are you worried about?" Tyson said not taking his eyes off the match. "I'm just saying endurance will be the key to winning. You just have to endure your opponent's attack because there infinitesimal chance of overpowering your opponent," Kenny explained.

"He's right. As long as Daichi keeps his balance and cool, he might actually win this," Ray said. "Daichi knows that guys," Tyson said now turning towards them.

"You think so Tyson?" Max said pointing at Daichi.

Daichi was jumping with irritation. The reason for that being:

Alexander was quick in his attacks as well as in dodging. His blade was spinning circles around Daichi's and attacked it in all possible directions. It was becoming impossible for Daichi to defend himself.

"Hey Daichi! Stay cool and calm. Focus!" Tyson was yelling at Daichi.

"You don't have to shout at me Tyson. I know! You think I'm not trying?" Daichi yelled back at him.

"No you're not! All you're doing is messing it up! Read his speed and try to find the rhythm in his attacks. No doubt they're periodic. Observe!" Mariah intervened.

"She's right Daichi! Concentrate!" Katya joined Mariah.

Ray and Max looked at each other in surprise. The girls noticed something they couldn't and they were absolutely right. They have to pay more attention.

Daichi did what he was told. He observed the motion of Alexander's blade. It was periodic! He just had to find the right instant to break free and he found it. "Strata Dragoon! Attack!" The blade was now free and it pulled far away from the opponent's blade. A bright light came form the bit area of the blade and the magnificent Golden Dragon came out. It attacked the other blade with full force. The attack pushed Alexander's blade to edge of the dish.

"Way to go Daichi! You did it!" his friends were cheering him. "Strata Dragoon! Finish him!"

"Not so fast Daichi…Triglav! The Sting of Darkness attack!" Alexander summoned his bit beast. A black smoke like thing emerged from his blade. It started taking shape and for a moment it appeared like a wild hound, only it was humongous. It then formed a shield around the blade and the shield started spinning with the blade. Needles shot from it, right at Strata Dragoon. Daichi winced. Getting anywhere near the blade was impossible. The needles were having a very bad effect on the blade. "Daichi! You have to attack now!" Max shouted out to his young teammate. "Yes Daichi! Now or never!" Kenny joined him.

"Strata Dragoon! The Great Cutter Attack!"

The blazing wheel sped towards the dark shield and to Alexander's disbelief cut right through it, thus knocking his blade out of the stadium.

"Yay! I won!" Daichi was doing somersaults in the air. His teammates rushed to his side to appreciate him, except Kai.

"Thanks. That advice really worked," Daichi said to Mariah. "You're welcome," she said.

Ivan was no longer smiling now. "Pathetic," he said to Alexander as he went back to the place where his team was standing.

* * *

><p>More beyblading action in coming chapters!<p>

I hope this chapters was good enough...

Please Review!:-)


	8. The Chains of Darkness

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

><p>The next match was between Max and Mikhail.<p>

"Max you're gonna win it and I know that," Tyson said. "Don't take me the wrong way Max. But don't get overconfident, because of Daichi's win. Alexander might have been the weakest link of the team," Kai said to Max. "Hey! What do you mean?" Daichi was offended. "No offense Daichi. I'm just telling Max to be careful," Kai said looking at the kid in front of him.

"I will be Kai. I totally understand what you're saying," Max said taking his blade out.

He walked up to the dish and stood face to face with his opponent Mikhail. He didn't look like much trouble to Max. He then looked at Draciel and thought, _We're gonna win this Draciel!_ He looked back at his opponent who was locking his blade to his launcher and take his position. Max did the same.

"3…2…1…Let it rip!"

Max took the defensive position at the centre of the dish. Mikhail's blade stood rooted at the point the blade landed on the dish.

"Mikhail knows Max is defensive blader, so he'll try to lure him out of his usual style," Hillary said. "Yeah, I'm sure of that. I think that is what he's trying to do…" Katya stopped suddenly and shouted out to Max, "Max! Watch out!"

Max quickly moved Draciel from its place and Mikhail's blade missed Max's blade by fraction of a centimeter. Mikhail was shocked and so was everybody else. There was no way that anybody could've seen that coming. No chance! Except for someone like Brooklyn. He could see practically anything beforehand, in a battle, though there were a few exceptions.

"How the hell did you know he was going to attack like that?" Tyson asked Katya in utter disbelief. "I…I…I just knew!" Katya didn't know what else to say.

"Let us worry about that later Tyson. Max's match is more important now," Kai came to her rescue. Their heads turned back to Max's match. "Careful Max!" Ray said.

Max frowned. _What was that? How could he be so fast? Kai was right, I've got to be careful._

He waited for the blade to come back. When it did he took a defensive stance. The blade was pushing Draciel to its limits, but Max was patiently waiting. The blade pulled away for a moment and attacked again. But Max didn't change his strategy.

"Come on Max! Do something! Don't just stand there," Tyson was at it again.

"Can't you just shut up Tyson? Don't you see? It's all a part of his strategy," Daichi said.

"Strategy?" Tyson looked at Kenny.

"Yes Tyson. Max is trying put his entire power in one single attack and finish him. For that he needs to find Mikhail's weakness first. That is what he's trying to do. Find Mikhail's weakness. I just hope he finds it before it's too late," Kenny said.

"It's a zero guarantee strategy Chief. He's ruining his match," Dizzi didn't seem to agree with Kenny.

"I don't think so. His idea might actually work," Kai said.

"Oh look who's saying, 'Mr. I Know it All'. I might as well zip it, 'coz who's going to listen to me now?" Dizzi said with sarcasm.

Kai didn't retaliate. He was wondering if he was actually right. _Dizzi did have a point, _he thought.

"There must be a method to his madness," Ray said.

Mr. Dickenson was a silent spectator to all this. There was something he thought he would see that day. That was one of the reasons he brought them here.

_There's no other way. He's very powerful. I underestimated him and now I'm paying the price. I made the wrong move in the beginning. I've to make up for the mistake and win the match. Draciel, don't give up on me, _Max thought.

Mikhail knew he had Max where he wanted him. It was time for him to make his final move. "Svaragog! The Chains of Darkness!" Mikhail's blade positioned itself on Max's blade and black rope like things emerged from it. They wound themselves around Max's blade slowed its spin. Max tried to move but couldn't.

"Max, do something! You are going to lose!" Katya was concerned now. Even Kai was worried.

"See…I told you! It was a waste. Max brought his own ruin!" Dizzi was angry.

"Max! Don't just stand there!" Tyson was furious.

"I can't…I can't move!" Max was struggling. He couldn't move an inch.

"He's paralyzed!" Mariah said shocked, "Whatever is happening to his blade is happening to him."

"Yes, he is! Max you have to break free!" Ray said. _But is he strong enough? _Ray was skeptical. But they didn't have the slightest idea of how strong Max was. Max stopped struggling for once, closed his eyes and calmed down. He took a deep breath and made his move. "Draciel! Gravity Control!" Max was free. He broke the chains that bound him. Mikhail was aghast. "What the…. How did you do that?"

Max only grinned. "Draciel! Finish him!"

Mikhail wasn't going to give up that easily; he attacked with full force. Both the blades were knocked out of the dish. It was a tie!

Max picked his blade and was horrified. His blade was full of deep cuts. He then looked at his own arms. There were cuts in several places and were bleeding. "Oh my God Max! Look at you! You're hurt," Hillary said running to him. She took his hands and examined them. "That was where I felt the chains," Max said. "You mean you were actually bound by something?" Tyson asked wide eyed. "Yeah I was," Max replied staring at Draciel. He handed his blade to Kenny. "What can you do about this Chief?"

"No way! How did this happen?" Kenny said taking Max's blade.

Max looked at Mikhail. He was sitting on the bench with his face turned away from his coach, who seemed very cross. Hillary made Max sit on the bench and cleaned his wounds with a clean handkerchief.

They heard Ivan speak and turned their heads towards him.

"I'm extremely sorry for what happened with your teammate. Mikhail was caught up in the moment and crossed his limits. Max, I apologize on his behalf," Ivan said to Max.

Max only nodded. "Isn't he overreacting a little?" Daichi whispered to Katya.

"He is, very much," Katya couldn't disagree.

"Now, let's continue the match. The next battle will be between Andrei and Tyson," Ivan said and went back to his team.

He said something to his brother. Andrei nodded and looked at Tyson. Their eyes met.

_I'm going to win this! No one messes with my friend and gets away with it,_ Tyson was determined to win this.

* * *

><p>It's a short chapter, but i hope it was a good one.<p>

Please Review!

I replied to the reviews and it felt really good. This is my first shot at writing, so every review is special to me. :-)

The story is going to get better and better, I can assure that!

Once again thanks for the reviews!


	9. Target Spotted!

I'm having loads of fun writing the story! I hope you're enjoying reading the story. :-p

* * *

><p>The battle started without much delay.<p>

"Both Andrei and Tyson have offensive style of blading. We're going to see a tough battle, rather an interesting one," Kenny said.

"Ivan really did his homework," Ray said looking at Tyson, "He planned the matches such that the players are equally matched in their skills."

"This will bring out the true potential of a player," Max added.

Both Tyson and Andrei were attacking each other head on. They seemed to be enjoying this. Andrei's bit beast was called Velesus, though they couldn't actually see what it looked like.

"Velesus! The Dark mist!" Andrei called out his bit beast. Tyson couldn't see anything. He rubbed his eyes, and tried figure out what was going on, but in vain.

"I can't see anything! What's going on?" Tyson yelled.

But he could feel Dragoon being attacked by Velesus. Tyson winced at every attack.

"Tyson!" he heard Hillary shout his name.

"Tyson, focus on the sounds around you." Kai said coolly, as others panicked. The level headed blader new better than panicking.

Tyson stopped yelling, and calmed down. He tried to listen to the sound of his beyblade. He picked it up and tried pinpoint it. He did and he could see his blade. _Thanks Kai,_ Tyson thought. Now he had to listen for Andrei's blade. But there was only dead silence.

He didn't panic. He asked Dragoon to move around and help him find Andrei's blade. It was impossible to find him. But, he was being attacked.

Dragoon was losing speed and strength. It was like the darkness was draining all their strength. He had to concentrate harder. He suddenly saw Andrei blade and without any further delay attacked him. Andrei winced but disappeared into the darkness again.

Tyson wanted to launch his special attack, but the problem was that he had no idea where in the dish exactly his blade was. The launch of the attack in the wrong place would disturb his balance and it would be game over for him. Moreover there was no guarantee that his attack would hit the bull's eye.

Something struck him suddenly. The name of the attack! The Dark 'mist'!

Only if he could produce a wind powerful enough to blow the mist away, he might be able to win!

He had to take the risk. "Dragoon! Galaxy Storm!"

He was successful in what wanted to do. The mist cleared and now he could see again. The storm took Andrei by surprise.

"Surprised Andrei?" Tyson smirked at him.

"You're smart. No wonder you are the champion. But not for long," Andrei replied.

"That's what _you _think."

Tyson unleashed the storm yet again, knocking Andrei's blade out of the stadium, making his big words sound like trash.

Ray, Max, Daichi, Kenny and Hillary rushed to Tyson and appreciated him.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Mariah said looking at Kai.

Kai only stood there calm and quiet, his eyes fixed on the man behind all this, Ivan Kozlov. He knew the man was up to no good and this 'friendly' match was only a cover-up for a dirty plan. Mr. Dickenson made a big mistake by bringing them there.

"They're too easy. Well they include really good tricks. But our hosts don't look like they're trying really hard to win this," Katya said as she stood beside Kai.

Mariah frowned.

"Even I feel something is wrong," Mr. Dickenson suddenly spoke, "Look at that."

He pointed to a small camera that was almost invisible in a far corner of the battle tower.

"We're being watched?" Mariah was more angry than surprised.

"I think we should forfeit the next match..." Mr. Dickenson didn't even complete his sentence when Kai said, "You shouldn't have brought us here in the first place. I don't care. I'll fight."

When Mr. Dickenson tried to protest, Kai just ignored it. Mr. D knew Kai wouldn't listen so he didn't say anything else.

* * *

><p><em>In a quiet corner of the Kozlov mansion...<em>

"Target spotted sir!" a man dressed in white lab coat, said to his boss, who was looking at the big screen in front of him. His face showed all the scorn he felt for that person on the screen.

The camera lens zoomed in on the auburn haired girl, who was looking right into the camera. For a moment it felt like she was staring at him, and that somehow she could feel his presence.

"I'll inform this to My Lord. He'll be very pleased and might finally consider my idea," the 'boss' said.

"You can't blame him for his apprehension. He's had too many failures to invest on anything again," the woman standing beside him said. She was blonde haired, and might have been in her early thirties.

"But what does he have all that frigging money for, sweetheart? It's for crazy scientists like me, who'll bring the world to his feet," he said walking towards the door.

"What are you planning to do with her?" she asked him.

"It's not for me to decide what to do with her, unless he asks me to. I'll leave her fate to his mercy. Her damned fate, he doesn't have any mercy." With that he walked out of the room. The woman turned back to the screen, and her eyes lingered on the 'target' for a while.

"Katya, isn't it?" she asked the man standing beside her.

"Yes, Dr. Reyes. That's her name," he replied as the camera lens zoomed out and was focused on the battle dish.

"How many times should I tell you Dave? Vanessa, call me Vanessa," she said in her flirty Spanish accent.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Dr. Reyes. You're my superior," he said coolly, ignoring her tantalizing aroma.

"What a waste," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Excuse me."

"I mean the girl. All that beauty will turn to ashes when she falls in that bastard's hands," she sighed.

* * *

><p><em>Mariah<em>

Tyson won the match. Not much of a surprise. He's annoying, but the fact that he is a champion cannot be ignored.

Ivan came forward to announce the next player, "So far the G-Revolution is leading with two wins and a tie. The next match is between Denis and Ray."

Ray took Driger out. But Denis had his own plans.

"Coach, I'd like a change in what you just said," he said and stepped forward. "I want him to battle me," he said as his index finger pointed out his opponent. KAI!

Kai didn't move. He didn't give a damn about Denis.

Kai's reluctance to respond, irked Denis. "You," he said pointing to Kai and then to the position in front of the dish, opposite to him, "here. I want you here and fight me."

"No one orders Kai around," Hillary said arching an eyebrow.

"Do you realize you just arranged your own funeral?" Tyson said moving aside, as Kai walked past him to the bey-dish.

"Good boy. You know what's good for you," Denis smirked at Kai. Little did he know it's consequences.

"You definitely don't know what's good for you," Katya muttered beside me.

"You definitely don't," Kai repeated the exact same words that Katya had just said, in reply to Denis' hot headed remark.

Yes, Denis had absolutely no idea what's good for him. To speak like that to Kai was digging your own cozy grave, except the ride to it wouldn't be a jolly one.

* * *

><p>I hope you liked the chapter, I know it's a short one though.<p>

If you did, just review.

If you didn't, make sure you review!

The next chapter will be KAI vs Denis! Don't miss it!


	10. Mariah's Secret

Finally got time to update!

The secret is finally revealed!

Why did Mariah run away from White Tiger Hills?

Read on to find out...

* * *

><p>[Mariah's POV]<p>

Kai was calm. He didn't say word nor move an inch. His opponent however was as cocky as before, unaware of the destruction he brought upon himself.

"Let the match begin," Ivan said and stepped back.

"3...2...1...LET IT RIP!"

Denis took his position at the center of the dish. Kai took his position away from Denis' blade.

"Defensive style of blading...Didn't expect that from him," Kenny said. "Don't judge a book by its cover," Dizzy said, "It's Mr. Smarty pants whose blading, so i won't do any analysis for him. He doesn't need one anyway."

"Dizzy! Stop being so mean to him. What did he ever do to piss you off?" Kenny was irritated. Dizzi was calling Kai, all kinds of names, for no damn reason. At least that is what Kenny thought. Well, I haven't been here for long, but even I know that Kai and Dizzy never had a pleasant conversation and all they did was piss each other off.

"Oh my God Kenny! Don't be so touchy...I was just kidding," Dizzi said and ran an analysis of Denis' blade.

"Guys! Look at that defense ring..." Kenny showed us the powerful defense ring, that shielded Denis' blade.

I turned my attention to the match. So did everybody. Kai was now rooted at the center of the dish, as Denis attacked. Kai's blade seemed unaffected by those attacks. However, Denis' blade was thrown back at every attack. Kai stood there his eyes closed and hands folded across his chest. Denis kept on attacking, waiting for Kai to retaliate.

"I like to crush my opponents. But it isn't much fun if you don't put up a fight," Denis taunted.

Kai was silent, he didn't appear to be in this world for that matter.

"What is he doing?" Daichi was confused. Max had used the same strategy and almost lost. But Kai wasn't a fool to make the same mistake; he was far from that. So there must be something going on.

"Hey Kenny..." Katya said and sat beside Kenny, "Just zoom in on Dennis' blade once."

"Sure," Kenny did as told. Katya narrowed her eyes at the screen, or Dennis' blade to be more precise.

"Guys! Look at this!" Katya pointed her finger to something around his blade. I moved closer to her to get a better view. i couldn't believe my eyes!

"That's impossible!" I said in utter disbelief.

"What the fuck! That's not happening...Kai's gonna lose!" Max said as he frowned.

"Let me see..." Tyson pushed Max aside to get a better view of the fine thread that was continuously emerging from Dennis' blade. Every time his blade hit Kai's blade an almost invisible spark went off. It wasn't being knocked back by Kai's blade. It was a strategic move. By the time we realized what was going on, everything was over. We turned around to see Kai standing there as cool and calm as before. He didn't give a damn about the dark web that had been spun around his blade covering the entire dish. Dennis' blade moved on the threads of the web but not in the dish.

"What are you going to do now Kai?" Dennis smirked at the phoenix standing in front of him.

Kai finally opened his eyes. His crimson eyes fixed on one thing, his Dranzer. All of a sudden there was silence, the creepy one that gave me goosebumps.

It was, after all the calm before the storm.

"Don't you know?" Kai finally spoke, "Shouldn't play with fire."

The calmness in his voice freaked Dennis out and that was apparent. He stood there frozen, as we watched a tiny flame emerge from Kai's blade.

Dennis smirked. "You're a worse than a fool to think that mere fire can hunt my Hesperus down."

"It isn't just fire...it is Dranzer!" Kai called his bit beast out. Dranzer flew out of Kai's blade vanquishing the threads of darkness around it.

"You'll need more than that Kai. Hesperus!" Dennis' bit beast emerged from his blade as web reappeared around Kai's blade.

At least I thought it was a bit beast. All I could see was darkness taking the form of a huge tarantula and suddenly disappear.

* * *

><p><em>Kai<em>

I have to find another way. The web keeps building itself...

I tried to move Dranzer, but no use. The blade was captured by the web like a spider's prey. My blade was paralyzed even before I realized what was going on.

Moving around in the dish was out of question. But, I could do something else. I saw darkness engulfing Dranzer's feet and slowly moving up. I have to do this before it's too late. Before Dranzer's wings are paralyzed.

"Fly! Kai! Tell Dranzer to fly as high as possible," Katya shouted. I turned around to glare at her, "Stay out of my match!" She flinched.

The expression on her face clearly showed she was hurt. I can't help it. Just when I had it all figured out she had to say her absolutely-not-necessary 'opinion'.

I turned my attention back to the match.

"Dranzer! Fly!"

Dranzer flew up into the air and with him he took the web of darkness, yanking it off the dish.

Dennis' blade fell off the web in the process and wobbled in the dish.

"What the fuck!" he looked like his world had exploded.

I was right he couldn't rebuild his web if he wasn't in contact with it. That is the reason he stationed himself on his web and not in the dish.

On his way up Dranzer had burnt his binds and now was free. This was my chance.

"Dranzer! Blazing Gig!"

With this I knocked Denis out of the dish.

* * *

><p><em>Mariah<em>

Kai won. The match lasted longer than I had expected. After all, we were used to those really short matches that lasted only a few seconds, when it came to Kai fighting rookies. This shows these Dark Knights weren't rookies, but they weren't strong enough to beat Tyson and his team.

When I thought it was all over, something unexpected happened. Our opponent's blade instead of flying towards Denis, flew towards the pole that stood in the corner nearest to Kai. It hit the pole with such force that the pole broke into pieces! Who would expect that.

One of those pieces darted towards Kai; he dodged, thanks to his excellent reflexes.

But another one flew right at me. My mistake was that I was standing too close to the platform.

"Mariah!" I heard Ray.

But it was too late. He won't be able to push me away. Damn, my feet weren't moving! I'm going to kill that Mikhail, after I take care of this rod.

I don't have any other choice. Exposing my secret is far better than dying!

I fixed my gaze on the rod and then it happened.

The rod stopped mid-air just inches from me and fell to the ground, on its way shattering into pieces.

* * *

><p><em>The same room in the quite corner of the mansion...<em>

"The second target identified, sir!"

"Oh don't bother," the boss said leaning back in his 'throne', "She'll be in our hands by tomorrow morning. So, just don't do anything."

"As you say sir."

* * *

><p>[General POV]<p>

People were shocked. Scratch it, they were horrified!

They were staring at Mariah, like they had seen a ghost. Or to be more precise, like they had seen a character of X-Men had come into the real world.

"What the hell was that!" Ray said, more like shouted.

He pulled Mariah and turned her around to face him.

"What was that?" he was furious. He had asked Mariah if she was hiding anything from him and she said no.  
>Now what was this? While people were busy trying figure out what was going on around them and Mariah mentally kicking herself trying to build a sensible answer to Ray's question, Katya was glaring at the Dark Knights, who had a devilish grin plastered on their faces.<p>

_So this was a trap_, she thought. _A trap to expose Mariah? But why? Why did they have to go through all this just to reveal Mariah's secret?_

Mr. Dickenson was standing there expressionless. He took his mobile out and called someone.

"I just called to report a confirmation. Need backup immediately," he said.

* * *

><p>Missing the wonderful reviews!<p>

Please review!

They're like my power boosters. So make sure you review!

Lots more suspense and drama in store for the readers. More of Kai X Katya too.


	11. Unanswered Questions

Why did Mr. D call for backup?

What will happen to Mariah?

Lot's of questions right? You're going to find your answers...

**Thanks for the reviews! :-)**

* * *

><p><em>Kai<em>

Those bastards! It took a lot for me to control my anger. The urge to pick up the broken piece of the pole and hurl it at Ivan was overwhelming.

The moment I sensed Russian, something was wrong. But, who listened to me?

I hurried towards a frantic Ray. He was clutching Mariah by her shoulder and she was probably hurting because I saw her wince.

"Ray," I said to my furious friend, "This is not the time to argue or shout at people. We've to get out of here as soon as possible. Mr. D," I then turned towards him, "did you make the call?"

"Yes Kai, I did," he said shoving his mobile into his pocket. "Let me deal with them," I said and walked towards Ivan.

"So...shall we start the final match?" Ivan asked as if nothing had happened. As if I'd let that happen. If this is war, then be it.

"Kai! Wait!" Katya's voice stopped me. Now what?

She ran to Mr. D, said something to him. He nodded in response. She must've asked him something. She explained something to him now and came running to me.

She put a hand on my shoulder, "Trust me in this, please." I arched an eyebrow. "Please... let me take care of this." To my own surprise, I didn't protest.

She spoke as she turned to face the Dark Knights, "Sure Ivan. It's time for us to make a clean sweep. It is Dimitri versus Ray, right?"

Ray looked at Katya with a frown on his face.

"Yes," Ivan said, "And we'll see about that clean sweep."

"That will happen, you just wait and see," she said folding her hands across her chest. What is she trying to do?

"Why don't you battle instead of him then?"

I turned to look at the speaker.

The guy named Dimitri stood up, and walked up to the bey dish.

"I don't need anybody to fight my battles," Ray said as he came to stand beside me with Driger in his hand. He was still mad at Mariah.

"But this isn't your battle at all. I challenge her. Not you," Dimitri said pointing at Katya.

OK...she tried to do something clever. Now, what did she do? This was all a part of her plan? What the hell is going on!

* * *

><p><em>Katya<em>

What is he saying? Is he crazy? He isn't suppose to battle me...he should challenge Ray. I should take Mariah, saying we had attend to something important, something personal...if anyone inquires further. The 'backup' was waiting outside the mansion for us and me and Mariah should leave without attracting much attention.

"Sorry, I don't think so I should..." I didn't even complete my sentence when Kai interrupted me, "I don't think anyone should battle right now. There's no point in fighting."

"He's right. We have clear winner here. There's no need for another battle," Kenny said adjusting his glasses and closing his laptop. I'm sure Kenny just wants to get the hell out of here.

"If that's what Mr. Dickenson thinks," saying, Ivan turned his gaze to Mr. D.

Mr. D wiped sweat off his forehead with the white handkerchief he never forgets to carry. "I agree with them. We should be leaving." He gave me a nod which translated as, _just shut up and follow us._

Fine, go to hell. Mr. D shook hands with Ivan and we walked out of the battle tower. We found guards dressed in black, armed standing outside the door. Mariah held onto my hand. I could feel her shiver slightly. I myself had goosebumps. Why am I worried? They can't even put a scratch on us. If they do, they'd be in deep shit.

"You can't go in ma'am," I could here the butler's voice. It was apparent that he was trying to stop someone from coming in, "This is trespassing!"

"I have a warrant. Just let me go..." a woman's shrill voice could be heard from the front porch of the mansion. What the hell is going on?

I looked at Kai and he smirked. Okay, fine!

Ivan had to intervene. Things were getting a little out of hand. As Ivan proceeded towards the porch, his team exited the battle tower from the back door without a word.

However, those guards didn't move an inch.

"These people... they are giving me the creeps," Hillary said in a low voice, probably didn't want them to hear her.

"Whatever! Just let us go!" Tyson tried to push his way out of this mess.

He was immediately stopped by the guards who stepped forward with their hand folded across their chest. The stood a head taller and were very intimidating. "What? Your master ordered you not to let us go?" Tyson stepped forward. I was amazed; it was a little surprising to see the idiot acting brave.

"Did he?" It was Max now.

They didn't say a word and just stood there like a barricade.

"Excuse me, but we have to leave," saying Ray pushed the guy in front of him. The guard lifted his hand to punch Ray but Kai tackled him.

"You heard my friend." Kai said and bent the guard's wrist he caught, backwards. The man winced.

We girls looked at each other and smiled. Quite a show it was and a rare sight too. We wished the fight would prolong so that we might get lucky and see the guys trash them. I know it was too much to ask for, but it would be amusing.

But that didn't happen. Mr. D stepped forward and turned the flame off as a woman entered the garden.

She was dressed in some kind of a uniform, a police uniform!

Mariah relaxed, so did Hillary and me.

Kenny looked better.

"Ha...Mr. Dickenson. Sorry for the delay. But that stupid man wouldn't let me in," she said in her shrill voice; it was rather irritating.

She shook hands with Mr. Dickenson as the guards stepped away from us.

"Let's go guys...the ride's waiting for us," she beckoned us towards the gate.

Ivan was glaring at her. All he could do was watch helplessly as we walked away. When we reached the gate, we saw something very surprising. Police officers everywhere!

As we boarded the bus, she told Mr. D that she'd contact him as soon as the search was completed.

The ride back to BBA was quiet. Everybody had their own questions. Ray was angry with Mariah. She had given up apologizing to him and sat in a quiet corner. Hillary sat with Tyson and I ended up beside Kai. He sat there with his eyes closed.

We walked back to Tyson's place, after bidding good bye to Mr. Dickenson. Everybody was acting like nothing had happened. It was rather awkward. Of course it would be! Something like that happening in real life? Impossible!

We thought it was the best we left Mariah alone. But, something was still bugging me. How could Mr. D act like nothing had happened? Why didn't he inform the BBA already? And what were police doing at the mansion? What was the search for?

So many questions, but no answers...

* * *

><p>[General POV]<p>

When they reached the dojo, "Yo Ray, there's someone here for you, from your village," Tyson's grandfather said.

"Lee?" Mariah's face lit up.

"No. I've never seen him before." Grandpa said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hello Ray. It's nice to meet you finally," Ren stepped out of the dojo, "I'm Ren, Lee's brother."

* * *

><p><strong>Wondering what's going to happen next?<strong>

**Read on to find out...**

**Just REVIEW!  
><strong>


	12. Losing Love

**A million thanks to those who have reviewed and everybody else reading my fanfic!**

I'm going to reveal something very important in this chapter. It's a HINT for a bigger suspense later on!

* * *

><p>Ray frowned. Mariah let go off Ray's hand. Ray turned to look at Mariah. She was pale, with a horrified expression on her face.<p>

Ren turned to Mariah and said, "You weren't coming home. So I thought I'd come and take you home myself. But before that I'd like to talk to you personally."

"She's not coming anywhere," Ray stepped in front of Mariah.

Ren smirked, "No one stopping her from doing what she wants."

"Ray, let me go," Mariah pushed Ray to the side and said to Ren, "Come with me."

She took Ren to the backyard of the dojo.

The others waited for them to come out. Fifteen minutes later they came from the backyard. What everybody saw was something they had never expected to see.

Ren had his arm around Mariah's shoulder, "Will you give Ray the good news or you want me to do it?" Mariah looked at Ren with a pained expression on her face.

"Fine. I'll do it. Ray, we're engaged. We'll get married next year when she turns eighteen. Now, won't you congratulate us? I know you're not happy with this, but that's how it's meant to be." Saying Ren started walking out of the dojo taking Mariah with him.

Ray caught Mariah's hand and pulled her to him, "Tell me it's a lie! Say it!"

Mariah pushed Ray away with her left hand.

"It's not a lie Ray. Everything's over. You don't belong to the team anymore. Don't ever come back to the village," Mariah said. She walked out of the dojo with Ren and out Ray's life.

* * *

><p><em>Katya <em>

The sudden turn of events destroyed Ray's life. It was evident. As Mariah walked out of his life he stood there just staring at her, helpless. And what was that? Married next year? What the hell!

"Ray! Just don't let her go like that. Stop her," Hillary was shaking Ray, but he wasn't listening. He wasn't in this world anymore. Kai slapped him right across his face. He fell to the ground and came back to his senses.

Tears were streaming down his face. He failed to protect the girl he loved. He lost her and now she won't be coming back to him.

"I didn't know you were so pathetic Ray. I thought you were strong. What if Mariah left you? There must've been a strong reason. You just have to win her back! Get up!" I couldn't control my anger anymore. This wasn't the Ray I knew. I didn't like this Ray either.

He looked at me. I could see nothing but grief in his eyes. But he managed to get up and wipe his tears.

"That is what I'm going to do! Get her back no matter what! That is my team and no one tells me what to do!" Ray was determined to get his love back.

Call it coincidence or the game of fate... something happened that tore apart Ray's life

We got a letter. If the letter had arrived just a day earlier, it would have had a different impact on a certain person's life.

"Is it the Grangers' residence? There is a letter for Mr. Raymond Kon."

"It's me."

He took the letter and signed in the place where the postman asked him to.

He opened the letter to see who it was from. The look on Ray's face compelled me to take the letter. When I read its contents I understood the reason for Ray's expression.

It went this way:

_Dear Ray,_

_ I know that it will be too late by the time the letter reaches you. But there are a few things that you have to know. First and the most important thing is that the team loves you Ray and we don't want to lose you._

_ But sometimes you have to part with your loved ones, for their own good. _

_A lot has happened since you left the village. Two men came to visit grandfather a few days after you left. Things changed after he talked with them. He decided to bring Ren back and make him the leader of the White Tiger clan. He vowed to kill you if you ever set foot in this village again._

_Mariah argued with him and she came to you. I'm sure that is what she told you. What she didn't tell you was that, it had been decided that she would marry Ren. She loves you more than anything in this world. Moreover, she's too young to get into relation like that! I'm confused myself; what would my grandfather get by destroying her life? Mariah didn't have any other choice. So she ran. But, I know her escape won't save her. She will have to comply to the Elders' decision._

_ I was as stubborn as Mariah was. Hoping to convince me, my grandfather told me something about your past. But, Ray, I swear I don't care what your past is. I know your present. And you're my best friend. What my grandfather told me, I have to tell you Ray, you have every right to know this. _

_Your last name Kon isn't your father's name. It was your mother's maiden name._

_Your father didn't belong to this village. In fact, he was a foreigner. I couldn't find out his name Ray, I'm sorry. Your mother belonged to this village. She went against the villagers to marry your father. Since she was already pregnant, they couldn't disagree. When she returned with you, two years later, they let her in. She told everybody that her husband was dead. She disappeared too, a few days later leaving you behind. _

_The worst revelation made to me was that your father was responsible for my parents' death. My grandfather came to know this from the two men who visited the village. That is the reason my grandfather and Ren want to avenge my parents' death by killing you. They plan to do it during the championship._

_I know this is bizarre and too sudden for you. But, there's nothing I can do. This is what I can give you right now. I don't know if I would be able to contact you again.  
><em>

_That is the reason we want you to face them Ray. We're helpless. Join your old team and come to the championships. Defeat Ren and take Mariah. She needs you Ray.  
><em>

_ We don't care about the championships anymore. All we care about is you. Be safe. All the best Ray, you have to do this for us. Our team and for Mariah._

_ Yours faithfully,_

_ Lee._

By the time I finished reading the letter we were sitting in the back yard. Ray sat on the platform, leaning against the pillar staring at the evening sky.

Everybody was speechless. Everything in Ray's life was turned upside down.

"This is so wrong…whatever is happening. Why now?" Tyson couldn't stay quiet anymore, "Ray, say something! Don't just sit like that!" Tyson couldn't see his friend in pain.

"Tyson calm down!" Max said.

"I'm being punished for something I'm not responsible for! Parents? I've never had them. My father killing Lee's parents; that makes me the son of a criminal! My mother didn't want me! What did I ever do to deserve this? I dedicated myself to the sport and I wanted to uphold the clan's honor. They are people who brought me up and gave me a life. And now they disown me? What do you expect me to do Tyson? Everything has been ruined. I'm helpless," Ray finally spoke.

"I thought I would knock some sense into you when I slapped you. But looks like it didn't work," Kai said and pulled Ray by his collar, "Don't you see? Your team trusts you Ray. It needs you! If you really love that girl, then fight for her! She'd be ashamed of you if you didn't even try! This is not the Ray I know. So snap out of it."

"We aren't dead Ray! We'll stay by your side and help you," Max said.

Ray finally came to his senses. "Fine. I'll fight. But what can I do?"

"Register for the preliminaries from here. Since the format has been changed there is huge possibility you'll fight in the championships," Kenny said.

"We're all with you Ray!" Hillary said.

Tyson and Max gave him a reassuring smile.

"Thank you guys. This means a lot to me."

Daichi was also smiling. He seemed to like the idea of having Ray on the team, even though he knew that Ray might take his place as Tyson's partner in the championships. He desperately wanted to help Ray. This was what he told me later.

Kai's mobile started ringing. He answered it, "Hello…What? That's impossible. I'll call you back."

* * *

><p><strong>Liked the chapter? <strong>

**Tell me through your reviews.**

**I know these are a little too serious chapters, but there's a lot of fun in store... Just wait and see... :-)**


	13. Bad News

**Another chapter. **

**Another twist in the tale!**

* * *

><p>Kai cut the phone and said, "Kenny I need you to open the official website of any Russian news channel. Fast!"<p>

"Sure Kai…what happened?"

"First open it Kenny."

We all huddled behind Kenny to see what the news was, with Kai sitting beside him.

When Kenny opened the website and played the live news, there were pictures of people running around and some gunshots in the background. The reporter started saying something in Russian. When I understood what she was saying I gasped.

"You understood that?" Kai asked me slightly irritated.

"Yeah, I did. I speak Russian," I replied.

"What are they saying Kai? What happened?" Kenny asked getting impatient.

"There was firing at the St. Petersburg railway station. A maniac opened fire on the passengers waiting in the lobby and fled. The police couldn't catch the suspect," Kai said.

He saw puzzled looks on our faces and continued, "Tala and the team were injured in the firing."

"What did you just say?" Tyson jumped to his feet.

"You mean Tala's dead?" Daichi yelled.

"No Daichi, he isn't. He's very badly injured. Ian is in coma. Bryan and Spencer are in the operation theatre right now fighting for their lives," Kai sounded worried. He actually cared about his team, the Blitzkrieg Boys.

"Who told you?" I asked.

"Raul called. The F Dynasty is in Russia for some tournament. The team was going to meet them in the stadium. They were going by train, since the venue was in another district. And this happened," Kai explained.

Julia and Raul, the brother and sister team. I found out a lot about them from Kenny.

"That's horrible news! Now what will you do Kai?" Max asked.

"I'm going to Russia tomorrow."

"Will they be fine by the preliminaries?"

"Huh? That's the last of my concerns," Kai said. He quickly briefed us about the team's medical condition.

The doctors said Tala needed at least a month to recover from the injuries. Bryan and Spencer were in worse situations. Ian might not even wake up again!

"I'm going to visit Tala and the others," Kai was concerned about his team.

"So you're coming back?"

"Yeah. I'll come back before the preliminaries."

I didn't like it. Kai was going to Russia. It wasn't a good idea. I felt something bad would happen. I wanted to go along with him.

What am I even thinking? But, the unsettled feeling wasn't going to leave me any soon.

* * *

><p><em>Max<em>

Should I tell them now? How will I tell them?

"Um…guys, I've something to tell you. I'm not going back to America."

"What?" Daichi said and everybody faced me.

"Yeah, I'm not going back."

"Why?" Hillary asked.

"Well, I don't know why, but my mom wants me compete from here."

"Huh? Why?" Kenny asked.

"I know Kenny this is bizarre and that you don't need me here…"

"Not at all Max! I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to know the reason," Kenny interrupted me.

"It's alright Kenny. Maybe this has got something to do with the change in the selection pattern. She wants me to compete from here."

"It's true. We don't know until that conference which team we are on. That is rather irritating," Kenny said sounding irritated.

Tyson wasn't saying anything. "Tyson are you alright? You aren't saying anything?" I asked.

"Nothing Max. Just contemplating. I mean, a lot has happened so fast that I don't know what to say or what to expect from this. It took a disaster to bring us together again, and I'm not sure what to make out of it," Tyson sounded troubled.

He was right. What was happening in our lives right now was a disaster.

Unexpected events filled our lives with gloom.

I did the right thing by not telling them the complete truth. My mom wanted me to compete along with Tyson and his team and not the PPB All Stars! Why? I didn't have an answer for that and I'm going to find out.

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><p><strong>It's a very short chapter. But, I had to keep it that way.<strong>

**Don't forget to review... :-)  
><strong>


	14. Twist in her Tale

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Beyblade. Only my OC and the plot.

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><p><em>Katya<em>

A school bag with a diary and a few pictures; a blade and a launcher that were safely locked up in a box which was placed in the innermost pocket of the bag. This was only thing that kept me connected to my past. It's contents were now spread open on the bed.

A photograph of two children, a boy and a girl, about two years old playing with the spinning top, some thing that changed their lives, was lying in front of me. I picked up the photograph to look at it more closely. I moved my finger along the words written in the white space below the picture. Those words sent chills down my spine. No matter how many times I had seen this picture, it creeps me out every time I look at it.

The life I'm living is a lie, everything I've told my friends is a lie.

_Mr. Dickenson took you in. That isn't a lie, _Zerona's voice echoed in my ears. I didn't reply.

It's true Mr. D took me in. He made me promise that I would forget my past and live a new life.

But what did he do? Threw me back into my past.

He knew there would be questions. I had to lie to get past them. What did I do to deserve this?

There was knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked as I shoved the contents of the bag back into it.

"Ray"

Ray? I opened the door to let him in.

"Kai is leaving for Russia tomorrow morning," he stated.

"I know."

"So... What do you think?"

"Me? What should I think?" I shrugged.

"There's nothing you have to tell him?"

I was silent for a moment. "No." I finally said.

"That's it?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's it."

"Fine then. Good night." With that Ray left the room.

* * *

><p>[General POV]<p>

_A week before..._

Kai sighed as he walked out of the dojo with his hands in his pocket. Those idiots will never change, he thought. He could still hear Tyson and Daichi fighting over a pizza!

He walked into the backyard where he saw Katya tinkering with her blade.

He stopped to look at her for a moment.

At first, he thought it was her looks that pulled him to her. He thought what he felt for her was attraction. No, there was something else that made him fall for her. He didn't fall for her the moment he saw her, like Dranzer had told him. It took him some time to understand his feelings for her.

She understood him unlike anybody else. She gave him all those small happy moments he kept missing in life in that short time she has been with him. No one knew about the time they had spent together. No one knew about the thoughts they shared. It was very easy for him to talk with her.

He could be a grouch, but she didn't care. She would lift his spirits and he couldn't complain anymore.

She wasn't perfect, but she was perfect for him.

But he knew something about her that disturbed him. Why should she lie to him? Did something happen that has to be kept a secret, even from him?

"Kai...?" she said putting her blade down, "You've got to help me with this. I think I messed up."

"That is Kenny's work. It's obvious you'll mess it up," Kai said walking towards her.

"I know. Sometimes I think I'm so good at working with blades." she said as she tried to swap the parts back into position, "I should just give this to Kenny."

"Good for you." Kai said. He sat down beside her.

"How come I haven't seen you in any tournaments before?" Kai asked Katya.

Katya sat there silent.

He spoke, "You're very powerful and power comes with training, doesn't it?"

"Yes. Of course. That's what I did," Katya said. She brushed a strand of hair from her face, "As far as I remember." She shrugged.

"You're interesting. You have a secret you don't want to reveal." he said.

"You okay Kai?" She put her palm on his fore head, "You don't have fever. Then what is it?"

Kai shook his head, "I'm fine."

"Did I do something Kai?" Katya put her hand on his.

"You did and you know that too," he said and pulled his hand away from her.

"I just wanted everybody to be happy and cheerful. I didn't mean to force you or anything. I only thought you'd feel better," she said staring at the ground.

"Feel better huh? How do you know what will make me feel better?"

"Kai what's wrong with you?" she frowned.

Kai was acting strange. She realized Kai knew something about her and that was apparent. Even the day before he acted strange. He didn't say a word to her all day.

"Nothing. Carry on."

He left. Katya wanted to cry. Tears welled up in her eyes. What happened?

She wanted Kai to smile, she wanted him to be happy. She wanted to give him everything he didn't have in his life. Was that wrong? He was her past, her present and now she wanted to share her future with him.

* * *

><p><em>Back to Katya's room (present)<em>

_Katya_

He doesn't want me in his life. So I'm going to be just another friend. I'll stop bugging him. That will be better for the both of us.

_You give up that easily? _Zerona asked her master.

Maybe. But let me give him a proper send off first.

_You need a psychiatrist. You've no idea what you're doing._

I ignored Zerona's remarks. But even I knew that was true. I did need a shrink.

When I knocked at Kai's door, it opened. Kai left the door open and went out. Well, I couldn't find him inside anywhere.

I looked around curiously since it was the first time I entered his room.

That was when I spotted something near his computer and my knees became weak. They buckled under me and I fell to the ground.

He knew about it all along. Mr. Dickenson told Kai everything. I picked up the papers that lay beside his printer. They were print outs of documents and photographs. My profile was among them too.

He knew I lied to him, to everybody! Yet, he kept quiet.

"Katya..." Kai was standing behind me with his hands folded across his chest, "I knew you would come."

* * *

><p><strong>I know too much suspense can be a little irritating. But bear with me pls!<strong>

Asking the right questions is very important. That is what I got in one of my reviews, the right questions and I'm kind of glad and thanks.

Believe me! But I do have logical answers to all of those questions. You just got to have some patience and read on to find the answers.

I've already said this my first attempt at writing a fanfic. So I'm bound to make mistakes.

I don't regret making mistakes, because I do learn from them! I'm trying my best to improve.

**Once again I thank everybody who has reviewed and my readers! :-D  
><strong>


	15. A New Beginning

The story is going to get more interesting as the plot thickens.

Make sure you keep reading and follow my updates!

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><p>[General POV]<p>

The next day morning marked the beginning of a new life for Katya. They had a nice and a long talk the night before. She and Kai sorted things out. They talked and cleared everything, except their feelings for each other.

Both of them knew this wasn't the right time. So they didn't utter a single word about it.

Katya went to sleep listening to Kai, while he talked to Mr. D on phone. Kai let her sleep there and he slept on the couch.

"Katya…Katya…" Katya heard someone calling her name. It felt very distant. She opened her eyes to find Ray waking her up. She turned to the other side and covered her face with the blanket.

"Later. I'm still sleepy."

"It's past lunch time. Aren't you hungry?" Ray said pulling the blanket.

"What! Past lunch time?" she got up suddenly, realizing that she didn't give Kai a proper send off, "I don't believe this. Couldn't he just wake me up?" she said jumping out of the bed.

"I bet he tried and failed," Ray said.

"I'm sure he didn't. His flight was at eight in the morning, right? And he didn't even have proper sleep last night," she said forgetting conveniently the fact that she was standing in Kai's bedroom.

"What did you guys do, for him not to have proper sleep?" Ray asked leaning to the wall and folding his hands across his chest with an amused look on his face.

No sooner had she realized her position than her face became red.

"Nothing, just talked. I'll just go back to my room, fresh up and join you for lunch," she stomped out of Kai's room, leaving behind Ray, who stood there with a grin on his face.

* * *

><p><em>That evening…<em>

_The Dojo…_

Hillary and Tyson were sitting in the backyard waiting for the others to come.

Hillary was texting somebody. She seemed to be really happy, and blushed every now and then. This was irritating Tyson, "Who is that?" he snapped.

"What? Why do you bother?" she snapped back.

"It's irritating me."

"Then just go away from here or close your eyes and ears."

"Why don't you stop texting?"

"I won't and it's none of your business."

"It is! I told you it's irritating me."

"What is your problem?" Hillary was losing her patience.

"He is my problem," Tyson said pointing at the phone.

"How do you know it's a 'he'?"

"It's written all over your face that it's him!"

"So what?" Hillary asked.

"Hey guys," Max entered along with Ray and Katya.

But Tyson was too busy to reply.

"He's not the right one for you," Tyson said a little sheepishly.

"Oh my god, Tyson! Since when did you start deciding whom I should be dating?" Hillary's voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Whatever…don't say later on I didn't warn you," Tyson said irritated.

"Who needs your advice anyway?" Hillary said and continued texting.

Tyson was angry now. He got up, walked up to her and snatched her mobile away.

She tried to grab it from him but he lifted his hand up so that the mobile was out of her reach; he was a head taller than her.

"Tyson! Give it back to me!"

Kenny and Daichi joined the spectators of this fight silently.

"No. You won't text him again."

"But why?"

"Because I don't want you to," Tyson said shifting the phone to the other hand.

"Why?"

"Zack's not a good guy."

"Zack? I was talking to Ralph. Give my phone back, now that you know it's not Zack!"

Tyson didn't want to give her the mobile back. He didn't want her to date anybody. He wasn't okay with seeing Hillary with another guy. He wanted to put it in words but it wasn't just coming out.

He dropped the phone and it separated into three pieces.

"Tyson!" Hillary yelled at Tyson, staring at her broken phone, "You have any idea how special this was? It was a limited edition my dad gifted me! You moron!"

"I told you to stop texting. Why didn't you listen to me?" Tyson said coolly.

He noticed his friends now. "Hey guys! We've been waiting for you."

"Yeah…we can see that," Katya said a little angry.

She helped Hillary pick up her broken 'limited edition' phone.

"I'll fix it. Let me have a look at it," Kenny said taking the pieces.

It wasn't broken; all Kenny had to do was just fix them all together in their respective slots.

"See it's not broken," Tyson said sitting down.

"Idiot! Don't even talk to me!" Hillary yelled.

For some reason Hillary didn't continue texting. And Tyson was glad.

"Jealous?" Max whispered to Tyson.

"Me? Jealous about what?" Tyson faked innocence.

"Forget it…" Max said rolling his eyes.

Katya sat down beside Tyson and took her mobile out. She looked at the time and sighed. There was still two hours of time before Kai landed in Russia.

"Missing somebody?" Hillary said teasing Katya.

"What?" Katya looked at Hillary and immediately at Ray. _Did he tell anybody?_ She begged him to keep it a secret. If anybody comes to know that she was sleeping in Kai's room, it would be the end of the world! Tyson would show her hell on Earth. Ray shook his head in denial.

"I'm…aren't you?" she asked Hillary back.

"Yes idiot..." she said and shook her head. _She's so dense_, she said to herself.

* * *

><p><em>[Meanwhile]<br>_

_Ray seemed happy on the outside but inside he was in pain. The truth about his parents kept bugging him. He wanted to know about them. But who would tell him? _

_Max got an improved version of his blade. However, he had his own worries. He tried to talk to his mom again, but in vain. He called Rick instead. Rick said that the team was equally confused. He said 'Senator' Douglas (who was once a Mayor) visited Judy about a week back and it was after that meeting that she had taken the decision. __Douglas__ had quickly climbed up the political ladder and got elected to the State Senate. _

_Everybody expected Nina to compete in the preliminaries, but she gave them shocking news._

_"I'm leaving for __New York__ this Monday. Dad is taking me with him and I may not come back," she said fighting back her tears. _

_"What about the championships?" Tyson asked shocked._

_"No championships for me. Dad won't listen. Goodbye guys. I'm leaving for __London__ today. I'll miss you guys a lot. Especially you Daichi," she couldn't control her tears. She hugged Daichi and said, "I'll never ever forget you!"_

_He hugged her back, "Me too." He pulled away and said, "You'll see us again when we come there for the championships…So you just have to wait until then."_

_She said nothing but just smiled at him. Hillary and Katya also had tears in their eyes. They were going to miss a good friend._

_ Kai returned a day before the preliminaries. The Bladebreakers were together again. Kenny replayed a few of their old matches, for old time's sake. They enjoyed the evening relaxing, forgetting for a while about the troubles in their lives._

* * *

><p><em> The day of the preliminaries…<em>

_The dojo…_

_10:00 AM_

After Tyson and the team had left for the preliminaries, Grandpa finally found some peace and was practicing with his sword again. He heard the door bell ring. He hoped it was some good news, because the last time there was a visitor, somebody's life was torn apart.

Grandpa wasn't as cheerful as before. Even Tyson and Daichi were worried. When they asked grandpa what the matter was, he simply said it was nothing and he was fine.

His wish didn't go unanswered.

He opened the door and his grandson greeted him with a bright smile on his face

"Grandpa! Surprised?" Hiro said hugging his grandfather. A woman in her early twenties stood beside him, with a sweet smile on her face.

"Hello young man. Glad, you're back home. I almost thought you forgot this place even existed," he said to the young man he had seen after a year.

"That can never happen," Hiro said. When Grandpa turned to the young lady, Hiro took her hand in his and said, "Grandpa, meet Leah."

"Is she the surprise your father was talking about?" Grandpa said.

"Actually yes," Hiro smiled and slipped his hand into hers, "We're engaged."

"Hello, Mr. Granger," Leah said and gave courteous bow.

"'Grandpa', that is what you should be calling me dear. Congratulations to the both of you! Come on in…" Grandpa said taking Leah's luggage.

"It's alright Grandpa. I'll just put them in my room. Actually Leah and I were thinking of meeting Tyson, before the preliminary matches kick off. By the way, Leah is a blader too…" Hiro said moving the luggage to a side in the hall.

"Alright then… your brother will be pretty stoked to see you. He could really use some inspiring words."

* * *

><p>[<strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hiro in the original series was only eighteen during the G revolution. But, in my story he was twenty two. That makes him twenty four years old now]

**I hope you're enjoying my story. Suggestions welcome!**

**Just review to give me your valuable tips.**

**Review! :-)**


	16. The Preliminaries

**The prelims have started, this marks the beginning of the championships.**

**The real challenge has begun!**

* * *

><p><em>The preliminaries…<em>

The team was discussing their allotment of groups.

"I'm in Group D with Kenny and Daichi," Max said looking at the list of the players in group D that was being displayed on the huge screen in the stadium.

"I'm in Group A with Katya," Tyson said giving his Dragoon Metal Storm a final tune-up.

"Ray and Kai are in Group B and Group C respectively," Kenny said typing in the details.

"This reminds me old days Chief," Dizzi said with a voice full of happiness.

"It does Dizzi…but let us worry about the format first. This isn't any kind of tournament guys, strictly a qualifier. The winners in the four groups are qualified by default for the championships. The rest of the players have to wait for the main list to come out to find out if they are qualified or not," Kenny said with a frown on his face.

"Are you serious?" Daichi jumped in front of Kenny.

"Yes, I'm Daichi. This is like some suspense thriller!" Kenny was cross.

"Relax Chief, you've got nothing to worry about," Dizzi tried to calm her master.

Katya and Kai were busy meddling with Katya's blade. "Will you both stop doing that? You'll destroy the blade," Kenny snapped.

"Help me with this thing Kenny, please!" Katya handed Kenny her blade, "This problem keeps creeping in!"

She was extremely worried. She thought that her blade would be alright after Kenny had fixed it once. After a practice match with Tyson the problem reappeared.

Kenny examined the blade. "I think I have the perfect solution."

He replaced Zerona's attack ring with a new one. "Here, the attack ring has doubled your attack strength. Your previous ring kind of slowed your beyblade down. That time I didn't have the right parts for Zerona."

"Thanks a lot Kenny!" she said as she took her blade from Kenny, "Do you suggest I test it once?"

"Umm... Not needed. But if you want to just go ahead," Kenny said.

"It's Dizzi certified. So you don't have to," Dizzi said.

Kenny rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Oh... Dizzi says not to, then I wont," Katya said flipping her blade into the air and catching it perfectly, "Hey, did anybody see Hillary?"

"Nope. I haven't seen her since she went to get some water," Max said looking at his watch, "It's almost time."

"I'll go look for her," saying Katya went for the door but the door opened and she bumped into Hillary.

"Ouch!" Both the girls said rubbing their foreheads.

"Sorry." Katya said.

"It's okay," Hillary said and entered the room with a couple. "Tyson! Look who's here!"

Tyson turned around to see his brother, standing at the door.

"Brother! What are doing here?" Tyson was surprised, at the same time extremely happy to see his brother, "You just dropped off the face of Earth after BEGA. Where the hell did you disappear to?"

"There's time later for these questions. I'm here to wish you good luck for the qualifiers. The new format sure is interesting," he said folding his hands.

"It is. All the best Tyson. From what I've heard about you from your brother, I don't think anything will be a problem to you," Leah said standing beside Hiro.

"You're absolutely right! Nothing can stop me," he paused and narrowed his eyes at her, "Who are you?"

"I'm Leah; you're future sister in law."

Tyson didn't respond, so Hiro said, "That means Leah and I are getting married."

"What the…You're getting married?" Tyson almost screamed.

"Yeah, I'm."

"Congratulations! When? How? I mean..." Tyson was very much surprised to hear the news.

"There's still time for that. Dad's coming tomorrow. We're going to go through the details then," he said, "For now concentrate on the match."

There was an announcement by DJ Jazzman, that the qualifiers have commenced and the players of group B and C are requested to come to the battle arena.

"That means we're up first," Ray said nodding at Kai. Kai nodded and made his way out of the room avoiding Hiro completely. He hadn't forgotten his last encounter with Hiro. He wasn't the kind of person who'd take insults lightly. Hiro was equally stubborn. He smirked at Kai, as Kai walked past him. Kai didn't bother to retaliate. Everybody in the room was aware of the tension between them, except Katya. Kenny sighed.

Ray followed Kai, but congratulated Hiro on his way out. Katya sat down beside Kenny, "What's up with Kai and Tyson's brother? Don't they get along well?" she asked.

"Worse than that. They hate each other," he whispered to her.

"But why?"

"Long story. Basically, unnecessary to know. So, just forget about it."

After Kai and Ray left the room, Hiro sat down on the bench, with Leah beside him.

"So, which group are you in Tyson?" Hiro asked.

"Group A. It doesn't matter which group I'm in as along as I'm winning it all," Tyson said without a hint of humility. Hiro sighed. Some things never change.

"Don't get so cocky. How many times should I tell you that? You're going to fall flat on your face today Tyson. 'Coz I'm gonna take you down," Katya said, showing him a thumbs down.

"In your dreams! High profile attack rings can't even put a scratch on my Dragoon!" Tyson said all fired up.

"And who are you?" Hiro asked the girl who looked like just another rookie with impossible dreams.

"I'm Katya. Tyson's friend. And congratulations..." Katya said as she flashed a smile at Leah.

Hiro nodded while Leah smiled in reply, "Thanks."

"Way to go Katya! Knock that chimpanzee's blade to the moon!" Daichi said taking his blade and jumping to Katya's side.

"Oh really monkey boy?" Tyson said and walked up to Max, "You knock that little chimp's blade to the Pluto, Max. I'll make sure you eat your words Katya."

"We'll see about that," she said with a voice brimming with confidence.

She returned to her place beside Kenny. Max joined her laughing.

Leah spoke after a long time, "How come the Bladebreakers are together again?"

"That's a long story Leah. Some other time," Hillary said trying to skip the question.

Hiro knew everything. He had already talked to Mr. Dickenson before coming here.

"Kai wins the semifinal and proceeds to the final!" DJ Jazzman announced.

"Group C has already reached the final stage?" Kenny said surprised.

"Why are you surprised Kenny? It's Kai after all. He doesn't waste any time with rookies," Tyson said walking to the door, "I'm going out there. Anybody coming?"

The rest of them followed Tyson out of the room.

_An hour later…_

Kai won the final without breaking a sweat and qualified for the championships. Ray won his final too. Max and Kenny were battling in the semifinal and Max was victorious. Daichi won the other semi final and was going to face Max in the final.

Group A had just completed the quarters. Tyson won his semifinal.

Katya was fighting hers. Kai and the others stood in the balcony watching Katya's match.

"Zerona, Flame Vortex!" Katya attacked and the match was over in the blink of an eye.

"She's powerful. Tyson, you'll need a lot of luck," Leah said.

"You're right. I know I mock her, but I can't take her for granted. The final is not gonna be easy," Tyson said seriously.

"I just donno whom to support!" Hillary said excited.

"Tyson, I want you to win this," Hiro said seriously.

Kai turned to Hiro and smirked.

"Sure brother, I'll try my best. You know what…I'll win this," Tyson said, more confident than ever.

_Try your best. But she isn't going to give up that easily either. So try your very best,_ Kai thought. He looked at the girl returning from the dish. _All the best Katya._

Kai knew it would be very difficult for Katya to win this but, no one knew how strong Katya actually is.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally! The championships have kicked off!<strong>

**Lots and lots of fun and suspense in store for the readers... :-)**

**Don't forget to review!  
><strong>


	17. A Tough Final

**I thank all my readers and everybody who has reviewed! :-)**

**Like I said... tough competition in store for Tyson and team.**

* * *

><p>Max and Daichi were engaged in the most action packed battle so far that day. Daichi's offense wasn't going good against Max's solid defense.<p>

"Max will win it," Kai announced suddenly. "How can you say that?" Katya said.

"He's right. Look at Daichi. He's already panting. But Max doesn't look as tired as Daichi does," Kenny said.

"Max is more powerful than ever," Hiro said.

"My little Maxie is all grown up…" Dizzi said faking a mother's pride.

Kenny shook his head, "But, you can't predict Daichi that easily. He can do anything, in the last moment."

However, Kai's prediction didn't go wrong. Max won the battle.

Katya patted a disheartened Daichi on his back, "Why such a long face? This doesn't mean you can't get to the championships. You're the reigning world champion, remember that? You'll be there, I'm damn sure," she said encouraging the boy. "You think so?" he asked, his voice a little dull.

"Definitely Daichi! Trust me," Kenny said. He was sure Daichi would get in, though he was unsure of his own position.

"The next battle is the Group A final between the three times World Champion, our very own Tyson! And the rookie Katya, who doesn't seem to be a pushover either! Who's gonna win this? The world champion or the Group D result is gonna repeat?" Daichi winced when he heard that.

"Hey Katya! Don't lose this! Kick Tyson's butt for me." Daichi said reverting back to his usual self.

"Sure Daichi! Thanks," Katya was glad Daichi became his usual self.

"Yeah, all the best!" Hillary said. Max and Ray said they too were rooting for Katya.

"All the best Katya. I'm sure we'll enjoy this match," Tyson said extending his hand to her. Katya shook his hand and said, "Definitely Tyson. All the best."

Tyson and Katya took their positions on either side of the dish. The fans went crazy when they saw their favorite blader lock his blade to his launcher. They hadn't seen him blade in a while. Katya was a little nervous. She looked around to see each and everyone cheering Tyson. She shoved it all out of her mind and prepared herself for the match.

"3…2…1…" the whole stadium chorused the countdown. "Let it rip!"

The blades were launched into the dish. It was the Classical Bowl, only a huge one.

Tyson made the first move and attacked Zerona. Katya dodged. She returned to her position; she had to get over the nervousness. But a lot was at stake, a lot to prove.

"Zerona! Defense," Katya made it clear to her bit beast.

Tyson wasn't foolish to attack when she had made her stance so clear. He wanted to test her defense however. He attacked her and his blade got knocked back to its position.

_Strong_, he thought.

"She's scared," Ray said with a frown on his face.

"She's using her defense to give her time to get rid of her nervousness. But Tyson isn't foolish enough to let her get away with it," Max said.

"Don't worry, the girl isn't foolish either. I'm sure she knows what she's doing," Leah said intently watching the match.

"Are you a blader?" Ray asked her. He had been observing her, and she knew quite a lot about beyblading.

"Yeah, I'm. Hiro and I won tournaments together," she smiled at her fiancé, as the reminiscences of her old team, came flooding back to her.

"So you've known her for so long?" Hillary asked surprised.

"Yeah. We're old buddies," Leah said, "I think we should first worry about the match."

Hiro examined Katya's moves. She was an original. He was worried about that very thing. _Yet another blader to hone Tyson's skills_, Hiro thought.

The match was intense. Now, both the bladers were on the offensive side. Their blades were attacking each other, dodging and spinning circles around one another. The latest collision threw them away from each other. "Zerona, attack! Now is the chance!"

Katya's blade picked up speed and slammed into Tyson's blade. She hit again before he could recover from the previous blow. She was attacking with tremendous speed.

"How is she able to do that?" Daichi asked bewildered.

"That's one of her strengths, lightning speed," Kai said. The crowd was equally appalled to see their hero being beaten up by some newbie.

"Tyson! Tyson! Tyson!" the crowd began cheering their hero. They won't let Tyson be defeated by some rookie. Katya flinched.

But all that wasn't going to affect her, she was determined not to let that affect her. Tyson was filled with energy now. He wriggled free off Katya and attacked her with full force. Her blade hit the boundary of the dish. A piece of rock broke off and flew right towards her.

She dodged and in the process fell to the ground.

"Looks like the match is over, rocks are piled over the blade. Let the dust clear off, and we'll have a clear winner." DJ Jazzman announced.

And the crowd cheered louder than ever.

Katya got to her feet, with a devilish smile on her face, "This match is far from over."

The dust cleared off to reveal a blade still spinning as fast as before.

"Her blade is still spinning! Katya is not out of the game folks!" DJ Jazzman was starting to enjoy this match too.

"You're not going to give up that easily, are you?" Tyson said grinning.

"No Tyson. I won't give up,"

He attacked her again and Katya tackled him. She was pouring in all of her strength.

She leveled with him in every attack. Dodged and counter-attacked him with ease.

But both of them were losing strength. They were exhausted. Tyson put all his strength and attacked Zerona. It was tossed into the air by Dragoon and was being attacked in the air. Katya gave her all to retaliate and her knees buckled under her. She supported herself on her hands, from collapsing.

"You should give up Katya. You don't have anymore strength left," Tyson said. He was in no better shape himself.

"So do you Tyson," she said forcing herself to get up, "Why don't you give up?"

"Why is she forcing herself so badly?" Ray asked Kai.

"She has no other choice," Kai said as he looked at the girl struggling to win, with a firm expression on his face.

"He's right," Kenny added, "She doesn't have a past record. This is the first tournament of her life. I've checked, hacked several databases to see if she had any previous record. There was no trace of her anywhere. So she has to nail this, if she wants a place in the final list."

Ray and the others were surprised to know that such a powerful blader didn't have a past record

"Fine, we'll end this my way then. Dragoon! Galaxy Storm Attack!"

"Zerona! Flame Vortex!"

The storm was pushing Katya and her blade away from the dish, not letting her unleash her attack completely. But Katya forced her way through the storm and planted her feet firmly on the ground. The flame around Zerona grew bigger and bigger. It was now overpowering Tyson's Galaxy Storm. Tyson was taken aback by the sheer strength of the golden Phoenix, in fact Katya's strength.

For a minute, Tyson thought he would lose the match.

_'Tyson I want you to win this'_, his brother's words echoed in his mind. The crowd was silent now. They were seeing something much more than expected. Who would have thought that a qualifier would be so heated up?

"Dragoon! Finish her!" Tyson couldn't take this anymore.

Dragoon obeyed his master and darted towards the Phoenix with sonic speed.

With that Tyson knocked Katya's blade out of the dish, at least whatever that remained of the Classical Bowl. The battle dish was completely destroyed. Katya collapsed beside her blade.

"And the winner of Group A is Tyson! With a nerve racking final, the qualifiers come to an end. This is DJ Jazzman signing off!"

She was on her knees staring at her blade. Tyson helped her to her feet.

"You are an amazing blader Katya. I'm really glad to have battled you," Tyson said, handing Katya's blade back to her.

"Thanks Tyson. That means a lot to me," Katya couldn't be happier, though she lost the match. She had given it her all.

"You were awesome!" Daichi was excited. He never expected Katya to be so powerful. Neither did anybody else.

"Don't ever pull that little stunt again. You sacred the hell out of me!" Hillary said handing her a water bottle. Katya drank some, and returned it.

"I didn't know you had so much potential in you! You're power packed!" Max congratulated her for putting up such a good fight.

"You were amazing out there," Hiro surprised Kai by saying that. That was the last thing he had expected from him.

"Thanks Hiro," Katya smiled, "Tyson was amazing too, as usual."

"I think we should celebrate tonight. We've discovered another powerful blader today and that's definitely a reason to celebrate," Leah said walking up to Katya, "I knew you were going to be great!"

"Thanks," she couldn't help blushing.

"Guys you're going to spoil me. I think Tyson needs the attention too. _He's_ the winner, remember?" Katya felt bad for grabbing all limelight.

"Oh, it's alright. He won't die. He gets too much attention anyway," Hillary said helping Katya to her feet.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Tyson yelled as the others walked away laughing not bothering about him.

That evening, Leah and Katya cooked, giving Grandpa some rest, and time to spend with his grandson. Hillary tried to help, and she was a good help as far as cutting vegetables was concerned. Beyond that, it was safe to keep her out of the cooking area.

They feasted and celebrated the couple's engagement and Katya's amazing battle.

* * *

><p><em>That night…<em>

"Grandpa, with Katya here, do you think it would alright if dad came home?" Hiro asked his grandfather, after everybody in the house went to sleep. Apparently, the same thing has been troubling the both of them.

"We can't stop what's going to happen," Grandpa said staring into the starry sky, "Whether it is good or bad, it is not in our hands. He will have to know the truth sometime or the other. So why not now?"

Hiro thought that Grandpa may be correct. But he was scared; what the truth might do to his father, to his family, was something beyond his imagination.

* * *

><p><strong>I enjoyed writing this chapter in particular. I got a chance to write how powerful Katya actually is. Moreover the battle between Katya and Tyson was my favorite part!<strong>

** So what did you like?**

**Just review to let me know! :-)  
><strong>


	18. Asian Qualifiers

_The next day…_

_In school…_

"Exams! What the fuck are you talking about?" Tyson was in hysterics.

"Yeah, exams from tomorrow. You'd know if you paid attention in school. They're only class tests, so stop making such a big deal out of it," Sisi said putting her lunch down on the table, where her friends sat waiting for her.

"Hey congrats guys! Heard you made it to the championships," Ralph said looking at the winning trio.

He sat down beside Sisi.

"Thanks," Tyson said with that troubled expression on his face, "What's this shit Sisi's talking about?"

"Yeah, we've exams from tomorrow champion. Math is the first one. Your _favorite_," Ralph said with a grin.

Tyson slammed his hand on the table, "I'll have to deal with this? Fine Hill, let's do this!" he said pulling Hillary up with one hand.

"What the hell! Leave me out of this Tyson. There's no way I'm helping you this time. You almost ruined my test last time," she said frowning and yanking her hand free from Tyson's grip.

"Come on Hill, you can't do that to me…Please…" Tyson tried his best to put up the 'Max's puppy dog eyes' imitation.

"You won't get me to comply. You suck at begging," Hillary said pulling Tyson back to his seat.

Tyson turned to Kenny. Kenny ducked to cover his face behind the journal in his hands.

Tyson knew that it was better to do something by himself than ask Max. Max wouldn't even care to glance at books. He wouldn't dare to ask Kai. He turned to his last resort, Katya.

"What?" she asked when she saw Tyson looking at her, "Hillary is the best person to teach you. Ask her. I need help myself." That was of course a flat out lie.

So, Tyson returned to his savior. "What?" Hillary snapped.

"I promise I'll study. Help me! I absolutely don't want to flunk," Tyson was begging her really well now.

"You look sooooo pathetic when you beg, Tyson. Keep up the good work. Fine I'll come to your place and make sure you don't flunk tomorrow," Hillary said with an evil glint on her face. "Thanks!" Tyson was hugging her now and their jaws dropped.

Hillary shrieked. "Get off me! What's gotten into you? Worried about a stupid test and…and all this! You don't find your screws before we go home, forget about your test tomorrow." She wagged her finger at him.

"Pathetic," Sisi mumbled to herself. "What did you say?" Hillary narrowed her eyes at Sisi.

"Pathetic, I said pathetic. I mean look at you. You're all eighteen and still single." She said, playing with her lunch.

Katya arched an eyebrow and Kai just rolled his eyes. _There she goes again_, he thought.

"And why are you telling us that now?" Max asked a little irritated by the way Sisi brought the topic up.

"You know why I'm saying that," she said to Max, in a way suggesting Max to reconsider her feelings.

"Don't worry too much. We'll be just fine," he said and Sisi knew he actually meant _'I'm not interested.'_

* * *

><p><em>Ray<em>

Kai's house was huge, creepy huge. I've been here for two months. But I never felt this lonely. Mariah…I tried my best to shove that feeling away, but my heart was yearning to see her. I was worried sick about her. Weird dreams, bad thoughts, crazy fears…my life was becoming living hell. I felt like going for a walk. I told Thomas, Kai's butler that I was going out and left the house.

I walked to Tyson's place, where Hiro and Leah were busy watching some beyblade matches. That was when it struck me that it was the day of the Asian qualifiers.

"Hey Hiro…what's the news?" I asked plopping onto the bean bag.

"Lee just won the Group B finals," Hiro said now getting up.

He was sleeping on the couch his head in Leah's lap. This reminded me of Mariah again; in fact everything around me reminded me of Mariah.

"Ray, are you alright? You look exhausted," Leah asked getting up from the couch, "You look like you haven't eaten a grain since morning. Shall I get you something to eat?"

How did she know? Do I look so pathetic?

"Oh no, I'm fine. I've been training since morning, that's it," I lied.

"Ren has entered the finals," Hiro said to me, "I've heard about him from Mr. Dickenson. Have you met him before?"

"No. Just briefly when he came here to take Mariah home," I said as that painful memory came back to me.

"So it's true…" Leah said.

"Yeah, whatever. He and his grandfather, both are fools if they think they'll be able to manipulate Mariah or the team." I said fuming.

Leah dropped the topic and we heard Tyson yelling at someone as he entered the dojo.

It wouldn't take a genius to guess who he was yelling at.

Hillary was equally pissed, "You're such a pig head. Totally busted something that could've been the best date of my life!"

"Yeah, like how many dates have you been on?" Tyson said shoving his school bag to a corner of the hall.

"Ok…the first and the best date of my life! Thanks to you I feel I'm gonna be the only single girl graduating this year!" Hillary was throwing daggers at Tyson.

"For god's sake, don't overreact Hillary," Katya intervened pushing the two away from each other.

"You have no idea how it feels to lose a date Katya. You'll never know!" Hillary said throwing her bag on the couch.

"Now will you both shut up?" Kenny said sitting down on the couch beside Hiro and opened his laptop, "The Asian qualifiers are in progress, what's the update?"

"Lee and Gary won the finals of their respective groups…" I didn't complete the sentence when Hillary interrupted.

"Hey look, isn't that Ren?"

Ren was fighting in the final. He called out his bit beast, 'Panthera' and the match was over in flash.

"He won? Oh my god! He's so powerful," Daichi appeared out of nowhere.

"He is," Kenny was surprised too.

"Powerful? He may be. But then he's nothing when compared to us," Tyson said in his usual over confident style.

You're right Tyson. I'll crush him. No one messes with my team and gets away with it.

I snapped back into reality when DJ Jazzman announced Mariah's name.

She entered the finals of her group.

My heart was pounding against my ribs. She looked fine, if you didn't consider her pale face and weak body.

"Holy cow! Look how pale she is! Haven't they been feeding her?" Max was angry.

I was fuming; I clenched my fists. I'll kill those bastards. I'm coming Mariah, just don't give up on me.

Katya and Hillary were too shocked to say anything. They were seeing their friend, in a distraught state and they were helpless.

But her blading skills were more powerful than ever. Her blade had tremendous speed, and sharp claws with which she slashed her opponents' blade into pieces.

"She qualified," Tyson said. He was also in a mild state of shock.

No body spoke for a while.

"I think we should get back home," Kai said breaking the silence, "You coming Ray?"

I nodded we left for Kai's place.

* * *

><p><strong>Review! :)<br>**


	19. Waiting for You

**Thanks a lot for the reviews! :-)**

* * *

><p>[General POV]<p>

_White Tiger Hills…_

_That night at around 09:00 PM…_

"You were great," Ren said wrapping his arms around Mariah's waist.

"Don't touch me!" Mariah pushed him away.

"I was only appreciating you on your win," Ren said with a devilish smile on his face. It sent chills down her spine.

"What do you want?" she snapped at him.

"You," he said pulling her to him and locking her arms behind her back with one hand.

He leaned closer to so his lips were only inches away from hers. She turned her face away. He pushed her to the tree, under which she was standing.

"This tree is special for you and him, right?" he said making an incision in the bark with his blade, "The same will happen to him. I'll destroy his blade, I'll destroy him. Then I'll kill him."

"In your dreams!" Mariah said trying to free herself from his iron grip.

"Mariah?" she heard Lee's voice, "Ren! Let her go!"

"Whatever…you just wait and see," Ren said to her, glared at Lee and walked away.

Mariah collapsed to the ground.

"Mariah, are you alright?" Lee asked sitting beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said staring at the diamond ring shining on her finger.

"Why don't you use your powers to escape from here?" Lee asked.

"You think I haven't tried that? Look at this ring. It isn't just a diamond ring Lee. This is seal, a seal on my power. Every time I do anything beyond this," she paused and looked at the ground a little away from her. She fixed her eyes on the ground and extended her hand and slowly moved her hand up. Following the movement of her hand, small pieces of metal shot up from the ground, rose to a small height and fell to the ground. Mariah flinched.

Lee was confused, "What happened Mariah?"

"I do something more than that, this seal arrests my power sending jolts of electricity through me. I'm helpless." Mariah said and rested her head on Lee's shoulder.

"Mariah, wait for Ray. He'll come for you, for the team." Lee said stroking her hand.

"I know Lee." Mariah said closing her eyes as tears welled up in them.

_I'm waiting for you Ray. I don't have much time._

* * *

><p><em>The dojo…<em>

_08:30 PM…_

"You did that problem?" Hillary was staring wide eyed at the rough papers, they were doing math on.

"Yeah I _did_ that problem," Tyson said handing her those papers.

"It's correct…it's correct. I'm a genius. I knew it! I'm a genius!" Hillary said.

"What? _You_ are a genius? _I_ did the problem," he said snatching the papers.

"No airhead…" Hillary was still angry with Tyson for ruining her trip to The Scoops (this was the date she was referring to earlier) with Ralph. So she'd been calling him names the whole evening, "I taught someone like you how to do math! So _I'm_ a genius."

"Argh…I've had it. You can't keep insulting me, just because I ruined your so called date!" Tyson said throwing a pile of rough papers at her.

"What now? You wanna start a silly paper fight?" she cooed and came closer to Tyson, "Huh, what?"

Suddenly Tyson's expression softened and Hillary froze. He leaned closer to her. Hillary didn't move and Tyson knew this was his chance. He almost kissed her when…

"Eww…Tyson! Were you going to kiss the old hag?" Daichi almost shrieked. He dashed through the door out of nowhere. He keeps doing that. Can't enter a room peacefully, can he?

Hillary clenched her fist. What was she doing? How did she let this happen? Tyson was her best friend!

"Of course not Daichi!" Hillary said and threw her bag at Daichi, "Learn some manners. Knock before you enter somebody's room."

She got up along with her books.

"Hey! This is my room too…" Daichi yelled back at her. He and Tyson still shared rooms.

"Moron… grow up!" Tyson mumbled to himself. _Perfect timing. Leave it to him and he'll spoil it for you. _

"Are we done?" Tyson said expecting something from her, but not sure what.

"Yeah…done," she said and walked out of the room stuffing her books in her bag.

When they went downstairs, Grandpa was coming out of the kitchen, "Yo! You homies get some dinner first."

"It's okay Grandpa. I think I'll head home," Hillary said zipping her bag and pushing her bangs away from her face.

Leah peeped out from the kitchen, "You're staying. Your mother called and I told her you would be eating here."

"My mom…?" Hillary was puzzled.

"Your phone's switched off or something; she called the land-line," Leah said dragging Hillary with her.

Hillary had to stay for dinner.

After that Tyson offered to walk her home. She didn't refuse.

Hillary didn't say a word the entire time. Tyson didn't try either.

"Tyson, I have to talk to you," Hillary said.

"I've something to say too," Tyson was glad that Hillary was finally ready to talk.

Tyson suddenly realized that they had reached her house.

"Hello Tyson. It's nice to meet you, finally," Hillary's father said as he stepped out of the house.

"Hello sir, it's a pleasure meeting you too," Tyson said giving courteous nod.

"Why don't you come in?" he asked, gesturing his daughter to invite Tyson.

"Well?" Hillary looked at Tyson.

"Oh no. I should be heading back home. Some other time, definitely," Tyson had never been to her house, but an invite so suddenly was rather awkward, "Hillary, thanks and good night. Good night sir."

"Good night Tyson."

With that Tyson headed back to his house, extremely disappointed. He would never be able to gather courage to talk to her. He hoped Hillary would 'talk' to him again, hopefully very soon.

* * *

><p><strong>Short chapter, right? <strong>

**There's more suspense and a twist waiting for the readers!**

**So read on...**

**Don't forget to review! :-)  
><strong>


	20. Reunion

**Thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

><p><em>The Dojo…<em>

_Around 1:30 AM…_

Tyson had been waiting for this moment. His dad was home, after a long, long time.

"I thought I wouldn't talk to you. But just can't help…" Tyson said and hugged his dad.

"Sorry Tyson. This time I'm staying for a while," Mr. Granger said hugging his son, "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"First fresh up and get something to eat, son." Grandpa Granger interrupted the father and the son's teary reunion.

"Yes dad."

* * *

><p><em>Half an hour later…<em>

"Congratulations Tyson! So, when will the tournament start?" Mr. Granger asked his champion.

"Donno dad, the date hasn't been finalized yet. We're waiting for the final list to come out. It is due this Sunday," Tyson said.

"I've heard of the change in pattern. What do you think Hiro?"

"I don't understand the reason for the change. I feel BBA is doing pointless experiments. But, that seldom happens," Hiro said, seating himself beside his father.

"Hmm… maybe. Anyways, how are your studies Tyson? Are you even planning on graduating this year?" Tyson's dad did sound serious.

"I highly doubt that…" Hiro gave his honest opinion.

Tyson glared at his brother and then turned to his dad, "I'll try my best dad. Don't worry, I'll graduate."

"Good to hear. I think you should get back to sleep Tyson. You have school tomorrow." Mr. Granger said as sipped his hot chocolate.

"I can't sleep, no way!" Tyson was too excited to sleep.

"No… Just go. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Come on… I'm not a kid," Tyson was not going to budge.

"Yeah, right. You're going to be late to school Tyson," Leah said as she entered the room, "I know that's mandatory for you, but tomorrow you have an exam remember?"

"Do you Tyson?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I do. And fine I'm going," he rolled his eyes at Leah, waved and left.

Mr. Granger turned to his elder son, Hiro, "Did you decide the date?"

"We're planning to get married after the championships. You know the reason," Hiro said as he took the cup of hot chocolate Leah offered him. She sat down beside her fiancé.

"Confirmed?"

"Yeah..."

"All the best then."

"Thanks dad."

"I got a job in Tokyo, in the BBA research facility. I'll report after the tournament. So, we'll be staying here for quiet some time," Leah said.

"It's a good thing to have some female presence in the house. People in this dojo might learn some discipline," Grandpa was glad that it won't be just the three of them (he, Tyson and Daichi) anymore.

"Oh no Grandpa, I'm afraid I'm not that tough to handle Tyson. You just saw him right?"

Grandpa laughed and said, "You're probably right," suddenly grief replaced the smile on his face and "I really wish some things to have never happened."

"It's today right dad?" Hiro asked his dad with an equally dampened voice, and tears filled his eyes. Normally he wouldn't have reacted like that but given the circumstances he couldn't control his emotions. Mr. Granger only nodded his head.

"Hiro, you alright?" Leah was worried.

"Dad, I'll come with you tomorrow. And I think we should take Tyson too."

"You're right Hiro. Dad," Mr. Granger turned to his father, "You?"

"I think we all should go. It's been a long time since we've visited her. She should meet her daughter in law too…" Grandpa managed a smile.

But inside he was worried about the consequences of something that was inevitable.

When his son sees Katya, will he be able to digest the truth and move on. Or will he fall back into his past and ruin himself?

* * *

><p><strong>What is the truth that Grandpa was talking about? What is he afraid of?<strong>

**Want to know the answers to these questions? Then read on... **


	21. The Family

_Moscow_

"Mr. Hiwatari, your dinner is ready," the butler said and exited his master's room.

The man who stood at his window staring at the night sky and the vast expanse of the forest beyond his huge palace walls was Voltaire Hiwatari, the ex-President of the Hiwatari Corp. Or should he say prison walls? He was not even the ex-President; to people in Russia and around the world, he was the 'late' Voltaire Hiwatari!

A prisoner in his own house, he was paying for all those sins he had committed.

_You're going to pay for this Kai! You will…_he thought as he stepped out of his room.

_My soldiers are coming to save me. Once I'm free you're destruction will be inevitable. I wanted to give you all the power in the world. I wanted to make you the God. But, you chose those stupid friends over me. You just wait and see. I'll make sure you regret your decision. _

He sat down in his chair, the place reserved for the head of the family. Anton stood to his side a little away from him.

"Do you need anything else, Mr. Hiwatari?" he asked very politely.

"No"

He looked at the empty chairs around him. A long time ago, those chairs weren't the way they were now. His family was with him. His son and his niece… had been his only family. Only if they had listened to him, only if they had understood him… every thing would've been different.

* * *

><p><em>Twenty three years ago…<em>

She came running down the stairs, being chased by her beloved brother Viktor. He caught hold of her long auburn hair and thought he could finally retrieve his blade from her. But, her hair slipped through his fingers, with her went his beyblade.

"You have to promise me first. You'll introduce me to her, only then I'll give you your beyblade back," she said hiding his beyblade behind her.

"Alina! Just give it back to me!"

"No!"

"Fine. I promise, I'll introduce you to her when we go back to Japan," he just couldn't say 'no' to his fifteen year old sister.

Her amber eyes lit up. She was going to meet her future sister-in-law. Viktor hadn't proposed Ayuri yet. But, he would as soon as they return to Japan. He knew her answer, yet he was tensed. Alina however, went as far as selecting the names of her niece and nephew.

She handed her brother his blade and said with wink, "She better not disappoint me."

He pulled her hair and said, "And you better watch your manners with her."

"Ouch," she said and as her brother walked away she stuck her tongue out at him.

The door of the huge mansion opened to let in a man in his late forties.

"Dad!" the young girl ran to her uncle and hugged him, "I missed you so much."

"Welcome home, Alina," he hugged the little girl back.

The relation between them was that of a nice and an uncle, but the relation that had grown between them over the years was that of a father and a daughter.

"Welcome home dad," Viktor Hiwatari greeted his father, Voltaire Hiwatari, the President of one of the biggest military corporations in Russia, The Hiwatari Corp.

"Welcome home, son. I assume you arrived in the evening," Voltaire Hiwatari said as made himself comfortable in his recliner near the fireplace.

"Yes. We'll be staying in Russia until the New Year," he explained to his father, knowing the fact that his father would have been too busy to remember their dates of arrival and departure.

"So, how is the company in Japan?"

"Don't you know dad? I'm sure you would have run a primary scan of all the statistics by now," he said as he sat down facing his dad.

"You know me very well, Viktor."

"After all I'm your son."

Their eyes met for a moment and wandered elsewhere.

"Let's talk about something else, anything other than your business matters," Alina said, unaware of the tension brewing between the father and the son.

"So, how are your studies?" Hiwatari asked his little girl.

"Fine. Good enough to graduate," she said smiling.

"That's good."

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes, what is it?" Viktor asked Anton, their butler.

Anton was a humble man, in his late thirties.

"The dinner has been served, sir."

"We're coming."

The three of them got up to have their dinner.

That was happiest of all the dinners Voltaire Hiwatari ever had in his life. Alina just couldn't stop talking. Viktor's sense of humor was amazing. Voltaire laughed and put in a couple of jokes too. He couldn't remember when he had been so happy before.

What he had never expected was that, this would be the last dinner he would have with his family. The family he had destroyed with his own hands.

* * *

><p><em>Back to the present...<em>

_Tokyo_

_Kai's mansion..._

"Katya?" Ray shook the girl lying in her bed curled up in the fetal position.

Katya wasn't exactly a morning person, but she was never late to school. It was 8:40 in the morning and still she was in bed, unwilling to get up.

"Hey... you alright? You're getting late." Ray shook her again.

"I'm not going anywhere. I feel sick," she mumbled in sleep, barely audible to herself.

Ray pulled the blanket off her face and put a hand on her fore head.

"Oh my god! You're burning. How the hell did you catch a fever?"

Ray went downstairs to tell Kai about her condition.

"She has a high fever. It's better she rests today."

"Fever?" Kai arched an eye brow.

"Check for yourself," Ray said pointing upstairs.

Kai said, "Let her rest then. I'm leaving."

* * *

><p><em>Sometime in the afternoon...<em>

Ray woke up suddenly. He looked around in his room. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

But, he couldn't. So he decided to go check on Katya and give her something to eat if she was feeling better.

He went to her room to find her bed empty.

On his way downstairs, he saw Thomas coming up.

"Master Ray, have you seen Miss Katya anywhere?"

"What? She isn't there at home?" Ray asked the butler, a little shocked. Where did that girl go to in that condition.

"No. The driver told me that he saw her going out an hour ago..."

"She went out? How did he let her go?" Ray was already running down stairs and was on his way out. He wasted no time and called Kai. He was on his way home.

"What do you mean by Katya went out?" Kai became furious when he heard the news.

_Stupid girl! I told her not to go out alone. What is she thinking of herself?_

* * *

><p><em>Cemetery...<em>

Aran Granger knelt down in front of of her grave and laid down the flowers he brought for her. Cherry blossoms had always been her favourite. Those were the flowers she was named after.

_Sakura_... Even the thought of her name brought back to him the serenity, he found in her embrace.

She was the most beautiful women he had ever met. He loved her more than anything in this world. That was the reason he never remarried. He gave her all the love he had to offer. When she left this world, his love went with her. He couldn't fall in love again.

"Dad, why did you bring me here today? After all these years..." it has been a long time since Tyson visited his mother's grave. He didn't remember how his mother looked; you can't blame him. He wasn't even an year old when she died.

"Must there be a reason Tyson?" Hiro asked his brother.

"No... I don't mean it like that. Look at dad. He's never been like this."

"About seventeen years ago, today was the day I lost her." Mr. Granger said.

"Have you ever seen your mother's photograph Tyson?" Mr. Granger asked his bewildered son.

Tyson had seen her photograph once when he was about five years old. His father took him in his arms and told him how wonderful a person his mother was. Tyson suddenly wanted to meet his mother. He cried and cried for two days. After that incident, Aran Granger decided never to talk about her in front of him.

"No..." Tyson said forgetting the ruckus he had created when he was four.

Mr. Granger took his wallet out. Hiro and Grandpa looked at each other with worried expression in their eyes.

Now, even Tyson would realize!

* * *

><p><strong>How was the chapter? <strong>

**What do you think Tyson will realize? I'm sure you'll have your guesses.**

**Just review to tell me your answers.**

**Curious to find out? READ ON...**

**_To my readers..._**

**Hi! **

**Every time I check my story stats, I see the number of people reading my story increasing. **

**It feels wonderful! A million thanks to all my readers! :-)**

**It would be even more amazing if you'd review and tell me how much you like it. (Suggestions very much welcome)**

**So, next time when you read my story make sure you review!**

**(Just wanted to properly thank all my readers and everybody who has reviewed!)  
><strong>


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